Nightmare's Rising
by Trey178
Summary: When Danny loses a close friend and relative because Vlad holds a grudge, how will it affect those in the ghost zone? What does Vlad want with the Amulet of Aragon? Forgotten feelings are uncovered as the tale of Trey Fenton unfolds. M for lang
1. Surprise

**A/N:**** THE REVISIONS ARE COMPLETE!!!!!!!! And I did it in less than a week after posting my notice. I worked my ass off getting this story fixed for one reason, the attention this story got after posting my note was phenomanal! It was faved and reviewed in the span of 24 hours XD. I'd once again like to thank all of you DP fans who have kept going with this story for so long, you guys rock.**

** Now, the noticable changes to the writing are as follows:**

** -Trey's past has been made less extreme in light of the V-Tech massacre**

** -I have made sure all the ghosts are in character as much as possible whenever he/she appears**

** -This has been adjusted to fit the events of Phantom Planet, so a good portion of the script has been mosified according to it**

**Now that that's out of the way, let's return to the tale of Nightmare's Rising...  
**

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_**Ch 1: Surprise**_

The sun rises on another fine day in a small suburban town. As the rays begin to rain down on the life forms below, a clock alarm goes off in a small cozy house. A man moves his arm to shut it off as he sits up in his bed. He gets up and opens the shade and welcomes the morning quite gracefully. His trim, firm physique rises as he breathes the fresh air. This is Trey Fenton, a local of a small town in Connecticut, blonde hair long enough to reach the top of his eyebrows, and is officially 23 today since it was May 4th, his birthday. He showers and gets dressed in his usual denim shorts, T-shirt and a short sleeved camp shirt to go over it, and goes out for his morning walk.

Along the way, many girls acknowledge his presence by stopping and 'hugging' him and wished him a happy birthday. Ever since he was 12, an incident changed his life to make him who he was, and the girls found him very attractive after that. 45 minutes later he arrives back at his apartment to find his family there to greet him. Parents, twin brother, and his closest friends, it was a surprise well planned. When he got into the kitchen, he noticed someone had brought in a package left on his doorstep. He looked at the label with the return address and read "From Fenton Works…Amity Park……no way…" he opened the package and pulled out…_The Fenton Peeler_. "Dang Trey…who sent you this piece of junk?"

"Our relatives from Amity Park brother, you know how much Uncle Jack and Aunt Maddie are addicted to ghosts…there's a note attatched to this" and he flipped it over and read _To our dear nephew and cousin love, Uncle Jack, Aunt Maddie, Danny, and Jazz_

_**PS: **__You never know when a ghost will attack, so use this just in case_. Trey simply laughed at the strange machine. He knew full well of his relative's work because he was very close to his younger cousins. Heck when Danny was little, he wanted to be as cool as he was when he grew up. "So bro, why do you think we keep getting this stuff anyway? There are no such things as ghosts"

"Have you forgotten the Ectoranium asteroid incident three years ago? That more than proves their theories are true. Besides, I think I should ask the source, you interested I know Jazz would die to see her almighty actor relative again"

"If you want to drive up and visit them go ahead…I've got…plans with Lauren tonight."

"Really…well then good luck to you, I'm going to pack."

* * *

Meanwhile at Casper High in Amity Park, things couldn't be going better. The familiar trio of Danny Fenton, Tucker Foley and Samantha Manson were once again seated at their usual lunch table located outside the school. All three teens lives were running smoothly since Danny saved the world from a rogue asteroid that would have destroyed the Earth if not stopped. Tucker was especially relieved to learn that his two best friends have finally come to terms with their feelings.

Over three years and there was still no stopping the infamous couple. Paulina may have had a thing or two to say about it, but they didn't care. Danny had long forgotten her existence when he Sam first hooked up and he had matured for the better. Danny got more control over his powers over the months (he can create one perfect clone of himself now). Plus, he and Tucker had pulled their grades up to a solid 85-95 average.

Tucker had also grown as well since he had abandoned his traditional red beret (a welcome sight to his friends) and started wearing contacts. Instead of carrying any and every possible piece of technology on his person, he instead limited himself to an mp3 player, one cellphone, and a single PDA which improved his organization skills a lot. Not to mention, he had the potential to become an outstanding engineer when he graduated college since his political regime ended a month after becoming mayor. He tried to pass numerous laws that granted powerful rights to geeks like him.

All their outfits remained generally the same but instead, Danny now wore black jeans with a neon green shirt saying "Who are you going to call" on the front, and on the back was his famous DP logo. Tucker had grown his hair into a small ponytail and was wearing a solid color t-shirt with a long sleeved shirt draped over it. Sam had let go of her normal top and skirt for her own set of black jeans with a light navy blue top with sleeves that flared out the longer they got. Plus, to go with her combat boots, she now wore leather half-finger gloves. Like Tucker, she too had grown her hair and kept a lock of it near the side of her face with her green hair tie.

Indeed life was good for Team Phantom. Minutes later the bell rang for the start of the next round of classes, but to the upperclassmen including Danny and friends, it meant they could leave early. Fresh out of senior prom, the work load for them had lightened since their AP classes didn't meet every day. Besides, they had other things to think about while strolling to Fenton Works. "So Danny, have your folks reached a decision on your summer plans this year?"

"Well Tuck, I'm not going to tell you…instead I'll show you" he reached into his bag and pulled out two brochures, one for each of his friends. As they read the cover, Sam immediately turned sideways and planted a quick kiss on Danny's cheek. In her hands was a packet about Downtown Disney, while Tucker had Epcot, both being attractions at Walt Disney World. With the hero Danny Phantom boosting their credit, the Fentons have been getting calls of ghost attacks throughout the city, even some out of state. The fresh income was well appreciated and they soon had enough saved for a week or two in the happiest place on Earth.

They even got the Foley's to come along too. Maddie and Jack decided to bury the hatchet and allow Sam's parents to join them too, but unfortunately their opinion of the Fenton name, though not as severe as before, was still less than positive but that didn't stop Sam. This meant that there were two spare tickets up for grabs and they asked Danny to find willing people to "put up with them" for a couple weeks at most. Tucker was quick to present a suggestion and cleared his throat. "Now Danny, I know you may not approve of this seeing as how you hold a grudge and all…"

"Tuck I hold no grudges. Trust me when I say they get you nowhere"

"Well if you say so and…wait, you say that as if you learned it yourself"

"I kinda did Tuck, I was only a little kid when…he told me…" Tucker was about to ask who this person was when Danny's cell started ringing. He reached into his pocket and flipped open the receiver, not bothering to look at his caller ID. "Hello"

"Wow…your voice changed. That makes me wonder what you look like now Danny" Danny was a little startled at the voice on the end of the line. It spoke in way that said this person knew him and knew him well and considering past experiences, it was usually never good. "Hello, are you still there? I hope I didn't scare you off."

"No…but you're close so I'll cut the idle chit chat right now, who are you and what do you want?"

"Take it easy there. I mean, can't I drop by and say hello to a relative?" Danny's eyes widened and he switched on his speakerphone. "What do you mean by relative because I have very distant relations."

"This one is closer than you think, but I've played with your head enough, so what've you been up to cuz?" Cuz?! That word, Danny only knew of one person who called him that. "…Trey…i-is that you?!"

"Bingo, Freddy tell the young man what he's won?"

"Holy crap…well it's only been EIGHT YEARS!!! Where are you now?"

"I have to cut this short, so I'll say……about an hour or so from Fenton Works"

"Is he coming here?!" Sam nearly shrieked. Once they knew who was on the line she couldn't help but feel giddy. Trey was Danny's older cousin not to mention one of his biggest role models. He and his family came into town every so often, usually for a good reason, one in particular still lingers in her memory

**Flashback: Danny's 10th birthday**

_Danny had only been 10 for a couple hours and he was already bouncing about the house along with Sam. Tucker couldn't be there since he had suddenly caught a cold. The parents had left for places unknown to him at the time (later to be known as last minute shopping for presents). But Danny was happy for another reason. 5 minutes later the door opened and Sam went to answer expecting Mr/Mrs Fenton, needless to say it wasn't. It was the first time Trey had met Sam and he quickly introduced himself. The pair went into the other room where the elder was met with a bear hug. "It's you, it's you, it's you!"_

"_It's me…you can let go of me now cuz I'm losing the feeling in my legs" he obeyed and soon greeted his aunt and uncle at the door. After a quick reunion they immediately called to Trey to get the birthday boy because they were ready to head out. "Hey mister, where are you going with Danny?"_

"_To give him his first present that's what…you're welcome to join us if you want" little Sam was interested and got into the van with Danny and his New England relatives. They spent the morning at the mini-golf and kart track in the outskirts of the city. Danny would go onto say it was his best birthday ever. It would also be the last time he'd see him in eight years…_

**End Flashback**_  
_

"Yes I'm on my way there right now…did you put me on speakerphone because I thought I just heard your girlfriend."

"Yeah she's…wait…how do you know about Sam being my girlfriend?"

"I didn't, I'll see you guys soon, ciao." Trey then hung up leaving Tucker to laugh while the other two blushed from slight embarrassment. Nevertheless, they picked up the speed toward Fenton Works. As they rounded the third corner, they were interrupted by a familiar wisp of blue from Danny's mouth. Tucker and Sam gave him an approving nod and he changed into the now famous hero Danny Phantom. He took for the sky and turned around and nearly died of shock at the being before him. "Well, well now why would you be in such a rush Daniel?"

"Vlad, how did you…aren't you…"

"Supposed to be dead? Indeed when your father left me out there I too thought I was a goner. Before I knew it another large asteroid was hurtling towards me. Normally it would've crushed me flat, but as you can see it didn't. I've come to settle the score between me and your family once and for all. My life is a constant battle of life and death for me thanks to your bumbling father!"

"Watch your tongue old man, you decided to reveal your identity to everyone so don't go pegging this on me!"

"You assume I care about your opinion, but you are gravely mistaken!!!" Vlad ended the conversation with one of the most powerful ghost rays he had ever used. Even Danny was taken off guard when it nearly incinerated him. He knew Vlad meant business, and when he gets like this there's no telling what he can do. Danny immediately took flight away from the city with a bitter Plasmius behind him. As soon as he reached a wide enough clearing he spun around and rammed himself into Vlad's gut at top speed, causing him to crash into the ground below. The two halfas soon lit up the afternoon sky with a show of beams and lasers. It was during this fight that Danny put all the training he did during his absence to the test. When Vlad made his signature 4 clones, he responded with his two clones to make the fight a little more even. Soon after disposing of his clones, Vlad was starting to tire out due to one thing "What's the matter Vlady, old age getting to you?"

"I grow tired of your witty banter young Daniel, it's time to get serious" Vlad was true to his word as he held his arms up and started collecting ecto-energy in them until he had a glowing, violet ball as big as an SUV. He wasted no time in hurling it straight at Danny. Overcoming the shock in his body Danny was quick to avoid the giant sphere with little trouble. Danny knew this would go on forever if he continued fighting like this so he charged up his cryokinesis powers and froze him to the ground when Vlad charged at him again. Danny laid on a tick layer to ensure he would not get away. As he tried to squirm himself free, Danny landed next to him, he was finally going to defeat his arch nemesis once and for all. "How on earth did you get this kind of power Daniel???"

"Don't look so surprised Uncle Vlad, you think you're the only one whose been hitting it around here? Look at you, look at what you're doing why do you still blame my father for the way your life turned out?"

"Because it was all his fault!!! If he only had the brains to look over the test portal I would not be in this mess!"

"Then it's official, you're a hopeless case. It's over Plasmius, just surrender and when you're arrested the police might show you mercy." The only response was a shot of ghost rays from Vlad's eyes. Danny sighed as he stepped back to finish his nemesis once and for all. He inhaled and leaned back, ready to launch the strongest Ghostly Wail he could only to have it interrupted at the last second by a distant explosion. Judging by the size and color, it was obviously Vlad's previous attack that he had dodged. Taking advantage of the distraction Vlad went intangible and escaped his icy bonds. Danny didn't bother to notice since he was more concerned with any potential injuries someone may have received. He flew as fast as possible to the site of the explosion. What he saw made him gasp in shock.

A long chunk of the road had been totally destroyed leaving a fairly good sized crater in its place. Luckily, it was on a back road which people usually didn't travel on…usually. He then heard the sound of something metallic hitting the ground. He landed by the area to notice Sam and Tucker on the scene apparently trying to pry something, or someone free of the wreckage his eyes had just seen. The car was upside down and the roof had been flattened. Various bends and dents covered the outer shell from where it had flipped numerous times.

Danny finally moved up to the broken driver's side window to pull out whoever was inside. Using his intangibility he easily got the person out of the car. As soon as he set the person down he rolled him over onto his back. It was obviously a male, probably in his early twenties at most. His clothes and skin reflected the wreck he had just been through, but something wasn't sitting right with the ghost boy. "Danny…it has a Connecticut license plate…" Sam said observing the car. Then she instantly remembered that she knew one such person from Connecticut, and so did Danny. He scoured his pockets for some kind of ID, but found nothing because Tucker had beaten him to it.

Danny's stomach became queasy as he saw the frightened look in his eyes. His hands were trembling as he continued to hold up the man's driver's license. Danny took it in his hand and he felt his body freeze as he read the name, Trey Fenton. If a death was the worst case scenario, it officially got ten times worse. Danny was soon shaking himself as he looked at his cousin's lifeless form and the next thing he knew he was screaming his lungs out calling his name. Sam couldn't help but cry as she latched herself onto Danny knowing how hard he had been hit. Tears started falling from his cheeks when Danny gripped the earth under his knees and shouted "You'll pay for this Vlad……even if it's the last thing I do……I SWEAR YOU'LL PAY!!!!!!!!"

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**A/N : Thus concludes chapter one. Looks like Danny means business this time around. But, if Vlad holds such anger for Jack, why take it out on Danny instead of trying to kill him? This and more is answered in chapter 2: The Curse of Aragon**


	2. The Curse of Aragon

**A/N:**** When we last left our heroes, they had gotten the shock oif a lifetime when they discovered Trey Fenton, Danny's role model and cousin, had been the innocent victim of Vlad's attack. Meanwhile, Vlad escapes to rethink his strategy for he has new plans for the youn halfa...**

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_**Ch 2: The Curse of Aragon**_

Vlad finally returned back to his mansion in Wisconsin after a long flight back. It was his only sanctuary now that the whole world would be after him if anyone knew of his return to Earth. He changed back to his human form and leaned against the wall, clearly weak from the recent battle he had with Danny Phantom. "I don't get it…it's just Danny……when did he get so powerful?! But then again…it has been a few years maybe he hasn't slacked off as much as I thought."

Vlad's head was bothering him for the past 10 minutes so he decided to relax by taking a quick shower. The hot water relaxed his muscles enough to regain a level composure. Afterward, he dressed in one of his leftover suits and moved to his old study. Approaching the fireplace he pulled on of the football statues back, causing the stone to move to either side allowing him entrance to his main lab. As he slowly walked down the stairs he thought over the past years of his life, ever since he was abandoned in space.

"I no longer care…this is all your fault Jack. I would be leading a simpler life had it not been for you. You have no clue of the pain you've inflicted upon me…so it's up to me to return the favor, only I'll do it a hundred fold!" Vlad finally reached his lab and walked over to a small apparatus he had set up. A table, built to hold something or someone, was on one end and on the other was a metal box which contained an essential piece of Vlad's latest plan. He opened it up and a green light shone upon his face.

An evil smirk graced his lips once again as he changed back into Plasmius and started flying back towards Amity Park while running through the plan in his head "If this…curse is really true, then the powers of the jewel will be transferred to whoever gets hit by a ghost ray shot through it. If anyone, say Danny happens to 'catch' said beam, I can hardly wait to see what he'll do to suppress the monster he'll soon become. Oh dear Jack if you only knew what was in store for you, you would have thought twice about leaving me out there hahahahahaha!" With a maniacal laugh that echoed throughout the forest, he sped out of the state with blinding speed.

* * *

Vlad began his search at Fenton Works. His hope was to take someone hostage by any means necessary and hold him/her for ransom. The price would be Danny's unconditional surrender where he would then enact his latest plan for revenge. He was stunned to find no one there. The next thing he thought was his two bratty friends who always stuck around him even when he was fighting ghosts. Remembering where they lived, thanks to looking up their records (he's rich folks), he searched through both houses and still found no one. He gave up after 5 minutes in the Manson house; he thought it was one of the few houses that were almost as big as his.

Vlad started losing his patience feeling he'd have to threaten the city to draw him out, but it would also reveal his presence to the people who used to call him mayor. He then remembered the reason why he was able to escape his latest fight, his bomb attack. He knew Danny left the fight to check on whoever might have been injured by the explosion. Knowing it flew pretty far; Vlad started searching the edge of the city until he found a section of a road entering the city that had been totally blown apart. He also noticed that police and medical vehicles had gathered on one end "Ooh now this is interesting…I wonder who the poor sap was that was unlucky enough to end up in traction"

Vlad quietly hovered and went invisible to get a closer look. It was confirmed that he hit someone with his attack when Danny dodged it. He saw a tow truck hauling away the damaged car. From the looks of it, the red Mustang GT wasn't too broken since it still looked stock although it was clearly in an accident. As the truck pulled away, he finally saw his target. Danny was seated on the curb along with is friends and family. Vlad then noticed a peculiar fact about the entire group, they were sad, some were even crying, even Danny. Totally confused as how his greatest foe had gone from assertive and strong to sack full of sadness in such a short amount of time "Who could I have hit that was so important to him? His friends and parents are around him so who could it possibly be?"

Vlad turned his sight a little to the right to see two paramedics zip up a body bag. Vlad hovered over next to it, being cautious not to set off Danny's ghost sense. Amity Park medical crews always tagged their bodies so Vlad found the ID tag and got something he never expected. Written on the line next to 'name' was Trey _Fenton_. Vlad's eyes widened in surprise, he never expected something like this. "Well, well it seems young Daniel has lost a dear relative of his. Oh well, now that that's cleared up I can finally proceed with…" _moan_; Vlad was interrupted this time by the moan of some strange voice. He looked all around and found no one…_aahh_…another moan only this one sent a small chill through his body. He looked back down at the body bag to realize _it_ was the source of the moans. As he knelt in front of the bag, the chills grew deeper which to Vlad meant that one thing was about to happen.

"The ghost inside…looks like it wants to come out and play" and indeed Vlad was right as it slowly rose from the black leather bag. Vlad quickly went into hiding so as not to disturb the being that sat up on the ground "Whoa……head rush…that's odd…I feel fine. Whew…I must've lived through the crash…but I feel very cold…and…what's with the ambulances?" Trey had just noticed the emergency vehicles that were on the scene, along with his relatives who were about 20 ft away. He took a couple steps closer so he could hear them enough to know what was going on "I should've done something…I shouldn't have avoided that attack…"

"Danny please don't blame yourself…there was no way any of us would've known he was there."

"But he was Sam and now he's dead!"

"What the hell?!" Trey felt his stomach sink after hearing the emotional conversation. He spun his head in every direction and noticed his car was missing, and then he noticed the ambulance backing up to the black body bag. He quickly ran up to it and found the ID tag. He felt like he was paralyzed as he scanned his name on the tag over and over again. He was hot and cold, upset and confused all at once. "N-no…no…that can't be…I can't be dead. I-I'm standing right here…this is not possible!"

He saw the medics and ran over to them only to phase through their bodies. He made any movement he felt he could to get there attention, but it was like he wasn't there. Suddenly, he felt his spine grow cold as his gaze fell on a faint shadow on the ground. "Someone else is here…" was all he said to himself before looking up at a man with pale green skin, a strange black hairdo, and he was wearing some kind of white suit with a cape to match. "Well it took you long enough boy I was beginning to fall asleep."

"What are you talking about mister and what do you mean by GAAAHH!!!" Vlad didn't let him finish his sentence because he knocked him out with a simple ghost ray. With an evil look in his eye he picked up the newborn ghost and started flying back to his lab "I suppose Daniel wouldn't have come willingly anyway, besides, I feel a fresh ghost is far more open to accept new power, this is one development I plan to use to my advantage. This is even better than my last plan, not only will he get rid of Jack, but there is no way Daniel would ever hurt his family, it's perfect!"

* * *

_A young boy, about 12, was wallowing in the corner of a hallway at his school. No one bothered to pay him any attention because hardly any one liked him, not even his own classmates. After 15 minutes someone finally squatted by him "Hey Joe…"_

"_You okay there Trey?" This person was one of the few people that had become friends with Trey. But, even so, he was still unsure of his and the other's loyalty to that friendship. "I'm not sure Joey…I keep trying to find answers, but I just end up with even more questions…I don't know what to do" all Joe did was sigh and get up on his feet. He started walking away into the distance as Trey begged for him to stop "Wait, please I need your help!"_

"_I'm sorry Trey…but you need to figure this out on your own." Joe then vanished into the crowd leaving Trey alone once again. A feeling of total isolation seemed to surround him. If his friends couldn't help him, then how could he pull through? The feeling only grew worse and worse until it all converged in one short moment in time. He felt his abdomen get pounded by an unseen force and all he could here was laughter as he faded out of consciousness._

* * *

Trey's eyes shot open at the sound of his body collapsing to the floor, but he soon remembered that was 11 years ago. He now found himself unable to move his arms and legs. Trey lifted his head and found himself in some kind of laboratory. When he heard the sounds of someone walking inside he turned to the source "I see that you've finally woken up dear boy, but I guess you had to at some point" Trey was staring at this middle aged man with a completely black tux and silver hair who seemed to know a lot about what had just happened to him "What are you talking about mister?!"

"Your accident, don't you remember? You crashed you car just outside of Amity Park" Trey eyes shot open further as he gasped in fear "T-then I wasn't dreaming…but why am I here?"

"You ask too many questions young one, you know curiosity killed the cat"

"Why am I here old man?!"

"Isn't it obvious, I brought you here. I thought I would need Danny for my plans but instead I got you"

"Danny…what do you want with my cousin?!"

"Ah so you are related to young Daniel after all, tell me, why has he gotten so powerful?!" Trey couldn't believe his ears. What was this crazy fruit loop talking about anyway? What power does his cousin have that this man would be so interested in? "Judging by the look on your face, you don't know what your cousin's been doing for the past three years" Another pang of fear hit Trey, this man obviously knew something that had happened to Danny during his 7 year absence. "I-I don't understand…what are you talking about?"

"Ghosts my dear boy, it's what your relatives have been into for decades"

"I know that so what's your point?!"

"My point is this…" Vlad transformed right in front of Trey's eyes. He soon recognized the complexion, the hair, and the suit "Y-you're a…ghost???"

"Only half ghost my dear boy…and your cousin is in the same boat as me, let me tell you a story…" and Vlad spilled the beans on all he knew of ghosts and the ghost zone, and then he told the story of the numerous plans he concocted to use Danny for his own dark intentions. Trey just remained still overwhelmed. He was one of the many that watched the news of the Ecto asteroid disaster that was averted by the ghost boy Danny Phantom. He wanted to smack himself for not noticing sooner, but a few things prevented that. One, he was bound to a table. Two, he was so shocked he couldn't move anyway. Three, he was still trying to comprehend his own unnatural death.

Vlad soon got his attention when he moved onto current events "…but when I arrived at the scene, who should interrupt me but you. Your moaning gave me an idea, instead of using Danny for my new plan, instead I'll use a fresh ghost who has yet to develop any of his powers and guess what, _you_ are that lucky ghost" Trey's breathing had become more erratic over time. As Vlad told his story, Trey wished that what he thought had happened to him wasn't true, but it was, he was dead "B-but…the crash…my body…I'm here aren't I?!"

"In a way, yes you are, but look at yourself, doesn't your body feel unusually cold?" Trey couldn't deny that he was right. Ever since he woke up on the street, he did feel cold, and looking at himself now his skin looked a little pale. The realization hit Trey like a ton of bricks and all he could do was stare into space as a tear slowly leaked out of his eye "But I wouldn't worry about the past boy, it's time to focus on the present where you become my servant" Vlad then opened the metal box in front of Trey to reveal the Amulet of Aragon which he had acquired from a short encounter with Dorathea. Vlad proceeded to remove the green jewel from the pendant and place it directly between him and Trey. "W-what is that…what are you doing to me?!"

"Don't bother thinking of things like that anymore, because soon they won't matter" and Vlad shot a ghost ray at the jewel. It started to absorb the energy until it started glowing red "Yes…it's working…" was all Vlad said before the jewel refracted the beam right at Trey. When it hit his chest, the screams he made could be heard throughout the whole state of Wisconsin and the room filled with a blinding crimson light. After 10 seconds, Vlad stopped and the light in the room returned to normal. Trey was now unconscious as Vlad walked up to the table to inspect his lab rat. "Hmm…if the Curse of Aragon is real…then all of the amulet's powers should've been replicated and magnified by my ray into his body, and since I'm much stronger than a dragon could ever be, he should be quite the beast, but it doesn't mean a thing unless you WAKE UP!"

Vlad slapped Trey's face twice in hopes of waking him up, and he did. His face twitched slightly about five times before he lifted his head. Vlad smirked and proceeded to tend to something else, until a red aura suddenly appeared around Trey. He spun back around to see him gritting his teeth, squirming like a mad man until he opened his eyes which were now glowing blood red with rage.

His skin turned dark and scaly, his teeth became sharp like razors and he sprouted wings and a tail and similar transformations continued until Vlad saw a pitch black dragon as big as a coach bus with red eyes, a lean lower body, and a built upper body with a tail that could lash out at any moment. His fangs complimented the claws and horns he had also gained. The dragon then let out a roar so loud it made the whole house shake. Things started falling apart in the lab as the giant reptile turned around and made a break for it. Vlad tried to stop him but got caught under falling debris from his lab. The last thing he muttered was "Oh…cheese balls!" before his 'plan' escaped into the ghost zone through his open portal.

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**A/N:**** Oh deary dear looks like Vlad has screwed up yet again. But enough about that crazy fruit loop, now that Trey has been infused with the powers of the Amulet of Aragon he really has become a beast. What chaos will follow? What will the ghosts think about their newcomer? WHEN WILL DANNY AND SAM BE MARRIED?!?!?! The story continues as the dragon encounters the dimension's most powerful beings in: Prey and Predator (hint: Skulker will be there)**


	3. Prey and Predator

**A/N:**** Cue the cheesy Jaws music because something nasty is coming. An ancient force so powerful it will tear down anything in its path. Pkay so it's just Trey as a dragon but still, you get my point. Limits and knowledge are tested in the coming events in the ghost zone...**

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_**Ch 3: Prey and Predator**_

As the dragon was unleashed upon reality, in another area of the ghost zone, 3 ghosts appeared through the Fenton Portal. The thing was they came back willingly instead of by thermos. Skulker, Walker, and Ember had recently returned from a failed attempt at bringing down the ghost kid. They did all sorts of things to get his attention, but he never came to stop them. Normally they'd forget it and continue the chaos, but after nearly 3 years of trying to take him down, Walker wanted to make sure he was out of the picture before they did anything else. Skulker broke their awkward silence "I don't understand Walker why did you pull us back here when the city could've been ours for the taking?"

"I wanted the two of you to help me take down the ghost kid because he's grown too powerful for me to handle alone. I want to make sure that he's done for"

"Then why not take control over that stupid city and wait for him to come to us dipstick?!"

"2 things Ember 1: Because eventually we'll end up being carted back here in a thermos and 2: because I said so. But I think there's one question we all want answered, why didn't he try to stop us?"

"Walker does present a point, I figured he'd at least go after me after all the times I've tried to hunt him down. I've tried everything from forcing him to fight me to kidnapping things valuable to him and…"

"Hold on Skulker, that maybe it. Danny Phantom may have lost something, or more accurately someone, that _is_ valuable to him" Walker took a moment to pause the conversation to formulate what they should do next. Ember started to grow impatient "Well, what are we supposed to do now?!"

"Calm down punk…I see that the only thing we can do is to investigate and isolate the problem" Walker concluded

"Are you suggesting that we _help_ him?!" Ember asked, pissed off more than ever

"Hardly, the way I see it is that if Danny Phantom is going to be miserable, one of us should be responsible for it" Ember traded in her frown for a coy, mischievous grin "Oh…well since you put that way, I'm in"

"Good, we'll head back out and search for clues. We'll spread out through the city and meet back here in an hour. Skulker, I want you to search the ghost zone in case something from here could give us a lead"

"Alright then…" and Ember went back through the portal with Walker close behind her. But, before he went through he turned back to Skulker "Oh and one more thing, no sideline hunting" and he disappeared through the gateway to the real world. Skulker pouted as he activated his jetpack and took for the green horizons of the ghost zone. After 5 minutes of finding nothing, he started to question why he teamed up with the overly strict warden and the self conscious rocker.

"This is absolutely ridiculous, just because Walker organized this whole operation doesn't mean he has any command over me. I only agreed to help him because it would help me put the ghost boy's head on a pike…" Skulker continued to soar through the far reaches of the ghost zone until landing in a nearby clearing "…I don't care what he thinks, I don't care what anyone thinks, I'm the ghost zone's most powerful hunter and I do what I please and anyone who dares get in my way will suffer the consequences" Skulker was about to take flight again when he heard the sound a gateway opening into the ghost zone, but he was no where near the Fenton Portal. He turned around and could see another portal in the distance. Something then dashed into the ghost zone and slowed down to a stop about 15 meters away from Skulker "Well, well what do we have here?"

Skulker went invisible and flew in closer for a better look. What he saw put an ominous smirk along his mechanical face. What he saw was a gorgeous midnight black dragon, with blood red eyes, about the size of Pariah Dark. "Now this is rare…a ghost dragon with no amulet around its neck, it's as unique as the ghost boy, I will have this beast as my trophy" unfortunately things didn't start the way he intended. The dragon had heard him and turned his vengeful eyes straight at Skulker. It growled before charging at him with amazing power and speed. Skulker barely managed to fly up and out of the way before he got rammed. The dragon stopped and took the skies itself locking its red eyes with his green vision sensors

"This will be a challenge worthy of remembrance, let the hunt begin!" Skulker immediately summoned a laser cannon from his arm and shot directly at his prey, but he saw it pass right through him as the dragon turned intangible. "Hmm, this is no ordinary creature, its intelligence is profound for something of his nature" he didn't have much longer to think as the dragon launched a bright red flamethrower from its mouth. Skulker flew below it and started a beeline for his target.

He activated two missile launchers (one for each shoulder) and made a rapid fire chain attack. The projectiles hit its mark with full force and sent the giant reptile hurtling towards the ground below. When it crashed, Skulker let all hell break loose as he started using anything he could think of to bring it down and keep it down. He ceased fire after 15 seconds and stared at the cloud of smoke that had appeared where the dragon was.

"It seems you weren't as tough as I thought beast, no matter. The quality of your power has earned you the spot above my fireplace. You will most surely…wait a minute…" a power reader activated on Skulker's right arm. It detected a life form 5 feet in front of him. Skulker watched in awe as the smoke cleared, and found the dragon still standing without as much as a scratch. It launched another flamethrower which Skulker barely avoided by going intangible. After he went solid he noticed his prize was fleeing into the skies so he gave chase. This is where he discovered the dragon's amazing speed and agility.

He was avoiding obstacles by mere inches and it made it look easy. After clearing a forest area of the ghost zone, Skulker never noticed the beast do a somersault and start attacking from behind, the hunter was now the hunted. Skulker had little time to think of a way to turn the tables in his favor, so he did the only thing he thought he could do. He slammed a button on his arm as his full arsenal was summoned out of his body. He locked on and fired all his weapons at once. He hit his target and it was sent flying back down to the ground. Not wanting to lose his trophy, Skulker kept a close distance between him and the dragon.

Near the ground, he was ready to capture his latest prey when the dragon suddenly disappeared and Skulker ran into a wall. After regaining focus, he noticed he was back at the Fenton Portal and it was shut. The dragon had lucked out at the last minute and had gone through into the human realm. Skulker just sighed as he walked away "You got lucky this time beast, but mark my words, we are not finished. Like the ghost child, I will have your head as my prize"

"What's going on here Skulker?" The hunter turned around to find Walker and Ember behind him, had that much time gone by? "We saw you flying towards something up there and from the looks of it, it seemed pretty important to you big guy"

"That's right, my orders were no sideline hunting, what was that thing you trying so hard to capture?!" Skulker was now stuck, Walker had caught him near the tail end of his hunt. Ember's attitude didn't help him much and he saw a look in the warden's eyes he knew all too well. Rather than get thrown back in prison, he sighed and came forward "Something big Walker, something the likes of which we haven't seen since Pariah Dark…"

"Do tell then…"

* * *

Ember and Walker didn't look hard enough for Danny because he went right into his room after his parents took him home. He didn't say anything; he just walked up to his room and locked the door. His mood was so sour no one bothered to check on him, but who could blame them. The same sullen mood had fallen on Maddie, Tucker, Sam, even Jack. Sure he's an idiot, but when family is concerned, he's always serious. Trey was almost like a second son to them. He was always there to brighten their lives when necessary, not to mention he got very close to Danny and his friends. An eerie calm had come over Fenton Works until Jack finally lost it "For crying out loud I can't take this silence anymore! He's been up there for 45 minutes shouldn't we go up there and do something?"

"I wish I knew what to do Jack…you know how close he was to Danny, I don't think there's anything we can do. I can't even bear to imagine of what your brother will think when he hears about this"

"I know how you feel…if anyone knows family it's Steven. He'll probably…wait can we stay on the subject?! What are we going to do about our family? Does Jazz even know what has happened?"

"I called her 5 minutes ago Jack, although she doesn't seem to be too hurt by this. She's still up at college so she can't help anyway…"

"Maybe I can…" the adults looked up to find San standing in the entry way. Jack and Maddie were some of the first to find out about the girl's feelings for their son so they were more than willing to let her have a go at it. Sam sighed, gathering her courage as she walked up to Danny's room. What would she say to him? Would he listen? Many questions rolled through her mind, some of which scared her to no end. What if I can't help him? Will he do something that he can't fix? Sam ceased all questions in her head as she stood in front of Danny's bedroom door. She quietly tapped her fingers on the painted surface

"Danny…I know your hurt but…but, everyone is worried about you. Can you at least come down to show us you're alright?" Sam got no answer "Danny, did you hear me……are you even listening Danny?!" Sam slammed her palm on the door, and it creaked open. She quietly walked into his room and noticed everything was still in place; at least he didn't go into a tantrum. She slowly walked over to the other side of the bed and found him planted firmly on the floor curled up in himself. She sat down next to him so her eyes would be level with his.

Sam slowly outstretched her hand until it found a spot on his right shoulder. His head shot up and his eyes met hers. Sam wanted to die right then and there. His blue eyes normally so full of ambition and hope had become as dark and empty as the Skulk and Lurk on a Sunday morning. Judging form the swelling, he must've been bawling like crazy and it looked like they were ready for round two. Sam gave a weak smile as Danny fell into her arms. As he continued, Sam comforted him by rubbing his back until every last tear was gone. After five minutes Danny rubbed his eyes as he whispered "T-thanks Sam…I guess I needed that…"

"Yeah…I don't think Trey would've liked to see you this way…I know I don't…" a single drop leaked from Sam's eye and Danny immediately moved to catch it. As his firm fingers caressed her tender face the couple met with a deep, yet soft kiss. Sam adjusted herself so she could lie down on her back as Danny fell on top of her. They only separated when their lungs demanded the air they craved, but they continued to smile at the other until Danny pulled Sam back on her feet.

Hand in hand they walked back downstairs to the relief of the parents and Tucker. Maddie and Jack left the room to do their own thing while Tucker was called back home by his father for dinner. Realizing they were left alone the pair blushed. Sam broke the silence with "…What do we do now…" her question was answered when a steam of blue vapor emitted from Danny's mouth. They looked at each other and smiled. The two stood back up as Danny Fenton changed into Danny Phantom once again. Danny grabbed Sam as the two phased down into the lab.

No sooner did they land then they felt the ground beneath them shake tremendously. Danny focused his attention to the portal. An alarm was going off in the lab and it announced "High magnitude ecto-plasmic power source detected, risk of damage: high, opening gateway" and as the computer unlocked the portal and opened its giant doors, something big immediately zoomed out of the portal and crashed into the opposite wall, nearly smashing Sam and Danny (if he didn't go intangible). After the dust cleared, they found a big mass of black lying on the floor. The two moved closer to inspect the large mass that lay before them "Whoa…I haven't seen a heap this big since you turned Spectra into a giant booger, what do you think this is?"

"I don't know Sam, but…it feels rough, almost…scaly. I think we better take this somewhere before prying eyes can see it." Sam nodded and took her in one hand and the mass of scales in the other, and flew through the ceiling to somewhere outside. A few seconds later, Jack came running down to inspect the noise in the lab. Maddie shouted down "Is everything alright?!" Jack looked around to find the portal open, the back wall cracked, and dust from all sorts of materials that make up the walls down plus some broken beakers and test tubes on the floor. "Yup, absolutely perfect"

* * *

Meanwhile Danny and Sam took the mass they were carrying to the park since it was the clearest spot they could find. They were ready with a thermos just in case. When Danny set it down, they finally got a good look at what _it_ was, a dragon ghost. "No way…I thought only Dorathea and Aragon have that kind of power"

"It appears the ghost zone gives us surprises when we least expect them, still, I wonder where this thing came from" the hulk proceeded to moan causing Danny (the genius) to move towards its head, whereby it opened its crimson eyes and stared at the halfa with utmost hatred for no apparent reason. It instantly shot a fireball which sent Danny into a nearby tree, and thus, the fight began. Danny took to the skies and let the sky rain down with ghost rays, each one pelting the dragon like rocks. To respond, it covered itself in its wings shielding it from Danny's barrage. "Okay…you a lot smarter than other ghosts I've faced……" Danny then flew in close and unleashed a giant burst of freezing energy (learned that from Frostbite) completely encasing the beast.

Danny was about to trap it inside the thermos when it broke free from its prison sending shards of ice everywhere. Sam took cover by a nearby boulder as the fight continued. "Okay, so you're stronger too…I don't understand the other dragon ghosts I've faced are nowhere near as powerful as this one…GAH!" Danny barely dodged a flamethrower from his beastly opponent as he stopped about 50 feet away. Danny knew this would go on unless he ended it now. He inhaled and exhaled a Ghostly Wail which hit its mark.

Ironically enough, it worked as the dragon started shrieking in pain. Danny held on until all his power was spent and he changed back to normal Danny Fenton. The dragon finally collapsed in defeat and Danny finally trapped it in the thermos. "You can come out now Sam" and she peeked out from behind her rock and ran toward him immediately tackling him in a hug. They broke apart just as soon as the newly built Fenton RV rolled onto the scene and out popped Jack and Maddie ready to fight. But, they were too late, the ghost had vanished. "Odd I could've sworn that an ecto signature was right here"

"Now Jack did you remember to…Danny!" Maddie dropped her weapon and gave her son a hug "Are you okay dear?" Danny gave a quick glance at Sam who smiled back at him "Yeah…I am mom, oh and by the way I got this one covered." The family, plus Sam returned to Fenton Works to dispose of the ghost properly. Danny went down to the basement and plugged the thermos into its receiver. The portal opened to show the unconscious beast before it swirled away back into the ghost zone. As it fell through the emerald sky a red aura appeared around it. Scales became skin, claws became fingers, the wings and tail disappeared as Trey Fenton was free falling towards the ground.

* * *

The ghosts had returned from their search for clues a while back and were walking down a random section of the ghost zone discussing their findings and what to do next "What did you find out there?"

"Yeah Walker, what did you find, since bolt for brains over here didn't do squat and I got jack, what did you get?"

"I'm right here whelp" Skulker grunted clearly annoyed at Ember's remarks. "I didn't find much, but I did get something. All I know is that the ghost kid has had a family death. Now, since this doesn't concern us we'll wait for him to cool off before we make our next move and…Skulker what are you doing?"

"I think the two of you should see this…something's falling from the sky…" indeed something or someone was falling. 5 seconds later it touched down with a bang that could be heard from their position. The trio of ghosts moved quickly to the landing spot, which turned out to be Ember's house (just to point out, by some twist of fate, the ghost zone seemed to organize itself into something a lot like Earth is today). Right on the front lawn was a smoking crater, and someone crawling out of it. The three other ghosts stood in awe at the sight of a fellow ghost struggling to move so much, no doubt at the hands of the ghost kid.

He lifted his head to look at the three people standing before him, and they were barley able to make out his bright blue eyes before he passed out. Afterward, the three finally started tending to him. Ember rolled him onto his back while Skulker gave him a quick scan. Walker looked over his appearance a came up with a conclusion "I've never seen this guy before…he must be a new arrival…"

"If so, he's no ordinary arrival Walker, look at this…" he showed the warden his power reading of the strange ghost and Walker was clearly stunned

"That's impossible; no ghost is that strong when they're unconscious"

"Think what you want, my scanner doesn't lie" Walker pondered on their current quandary. Never before had he seen such a ghost, not since Pariah Dark. But he looked like any normal human and that's what confused him. "Bring him inside, we'll investigate this case further."

* * *

**A/N:**** I think the ghosts took tha trather well don't you? At least Danny has Sam to help him cope through this hard time, but who will be there to help Trey once he wakes up? He is in for the surprise of a life time when he opens his eyes to see the emerald sky and things don't look to good for him. Find out what happens once Trey awakens in: Issues...Plain and Simple**


	4. Issues, Plain and Simple

**A/N:**** The setting, a local middle school in Farmington, CT. The time, 11 years ago. A lone student has a message that he wants to deliver personally to his entire class, but how can he do it all at once, why at the school talent show of course, let's see what happens...**

* * *

_**Ch 4: Issues…Plain and Simple**_

_The young Trey nervously sat on the stool set up on center stage. It was nearing the end of the year and he had made it into the school's annual talent show. He knew this event was observed by students and faculty of all ages so it was his biggest chance to make an announcement if he wanted, and he did. He positioned the microphone closer to his mouth as the musicians started playing behind him. "This is an apology to all those who feel that I have offended in any way…_

_Raindrops are fallin' on my head  
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed  
Nothin' seems to fit  
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'_

_So I just did me some talkin' to the sun  
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done  
Sleepin' on the job  
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'_

_But there's one thing I know  
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me  
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me_

_Raindrops keep fallin' on my head  
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red  
Cryin's not for me  
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'  
Because I'm free  
Nothin's worryin' me_

_trumpet_

_It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me_

_Raindrops keep fallin' on my head  
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red  
Cryin's not for me  
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'  
Because I'm free  
Nothin's worryin' me_

_As his voice dimmed to a still silence, the crowd just seemed to stare blankly at him, as if they were asking themselves what the heck was that about? Trey stood up and gave a short bow and proceeded to walk off stage when a lone spectator's claps could be heard in the back. This was Trey's good friend Joe who finally felt Trey had found his answers and soon they rest of the audience erupted in a standing ovation. Trey looked from side to side completely stunned by the looks of happiness on the people's faces. He reflected a smile back at the audience and thanked them for enjoying his performance. As he went backstage, his smile was still strong enough that he completely blew off his usual group of "critics" like they never existed. From that point on, Trey Fenton was a changed man…_

* * *

"For the third time, wake up kid!" Trey opened his eyes again, only this time he was staring at a dark ceiling with no lights whatsoever. He slowly sat up and held his forehead which felt like a truck had run over it, twice "Whoa…head rush…" Trey then turned his attention to the man sitting in front of him. He seemed very intimidating not just from his physique, but with the way he dressed. The trench coat and hat, striped pants and black shoes, Trey knew never to get someone like this angry "Who are you…and where am I?"

"Follow me kid, your questions will be answered in the other room" confused out of his mind, Trey obeyed the foreboding figure before him as they walked out into the hallway and into a room two doors down. They walked into something like a dining room since the table in the middle of the room took up a commanding amount of space, not to mention there were cabinets of sorts all around, with…rock concert memorabilia from the looks of it.

"You can take a seat if you want" Trey looked back at the table and found two others sitting down. One was bigger than the first one, and he almost looked mechanical. The second one was a girl, with flaming blue hair, and amazing bright emerald eyes, but her outfit made her look like a rebel/punk, much like the things kept in the bedroom he had just woken inside of. "To start why don't you tell us your name, unless you've suddenly become a mute?"

"Uh right…my name is Trey, and you are?"

"My name is Walker, I keep things in order around here and it would be in your best interest not to make me mad otherwise, we'll have a problem, go that?"

"Right, and who are you?"

"I am Skulker I am the ghost zone's greatest…"

"And only hunter, I've lost count on how many times you've announced that metal head" the female had interrupted Skulker's sentence with a comment of her own "In any case, the name's Ember kid"

"I…kinda figured that…" Walker felt it was time to proceed and asked another question "Well now that that's settled, you mind telling us how you got here?" Trey was confused again, the way he asked the question made it sound like he came here of his own free will, but Trey hadn't remembered a thing from recent events "What do you mean…Walker?"

"I mean how did you die since it's clear to us you're new to the ghost zone" that jarred Trey's memory enough to remember he _was_ dead. "Well…I really don't know much. I was killed after my car was suddenly lifted off the road and sent flying. I flipped over twice before falling out of my seat, trapping me inside but…"

"But what kid, speak up I can hardly hear you" Ember blatantly stated. "It's all fuzzy to me…but I remember waking up strapped to a table. Then, some crazy old man shoots this laser through some kind of gem and the beam goes straight for me, the next thing I know, I'm lying in someone's bed down the hall" Ember sighed as he finished "You could've put him somewhere else you know that Walker?"

"Yes I do, I'm just here to make sure all of you stay in line, and that goes for you too Mr. Trey. Just because you're a ghost now doesn't mean you can do whatever the hell you want, it's all written here." Walker then pushed a book across the table to Trey and he picked it up. This was a log of all the rules Walker had set for the entire ghost zone, the good, the bad, and the completely unnecessary all conveniently published in a single book.

"Read the rules, live the rules breathe the rules and we won't have a problem, is that clear?" Walker had gotten up from his chair and looked Trey straight in the eye. Trey felt his stomach knot in nervousness, and Walker knew it, he loved scaring new guys. Trey swallowed and said "As crystal…Walker, can I go now?"

"Not quite, you see you'll need _temporary _accommodations before we send you off on your own"

"Uh, sorry to disagree but I'm 23 Walker, I think I can take care of myself well enough already" the trio of ghosts then proceeded to laugh out loud. Walker tipped his hat and continued "You've got a good sense of humor Mr. Trey, but it won't do you much good out there. Now as I was saying, until preparations can be made…you'll stay with Ember" her laughter quickly vanished and was replaced by annoyed, angry confusion "What, why do I have look after the kid?!" Skulker finally got his chance for payback at Ember after all the insults he endured "He landed in your front lawn girl, which makes it your responsibility to look after him"

"Now you listen here metal head, I'm no one's babysitter. I'm not going to have some…_kid_ to mother around like a…"

"Call it what you will girl, it doesn't change the fact that he was found by your house" Trey was now scared for the first time in years. Here were two ghosts he never met before (heck they were the first ghosts he ever met) fighting over _his_ life. He did his best to make his opinion known "Excuse me but shouldn't I get a say in…"

"SHUT UP!!!!!" The two bickering phantasms shouted in unison

"But I…o-okay…" Trey said meekly and ducked back into the doorway. Walker finally had to put his foot down otherwise this would go on forever "Now both of you listen here! I gave you an order Ember so you better see it through or else. By the way, thank you Skulker, thanks to your observation I can add something new to the rulebook" Skulker just slapped his face. He never intended for that to happen, but it was too late. Skulker just sighed and took his leave. Walker smirked at the pair of young ghosts and turned his back to them "Have fun you two" and soon he flew off, leaving Trey alone…with an annoyed, frustrated, and angry Ember.

She just stood there clenching her fists so hard her hair became an inferno. She didn't notice Trey slowly, and quietly leave the room and into another. He quietly shut the door and fell back on the bed he was on before. Rubbing his forehead in frustration, he looked to his left and found a bathroom. He got up and walked in, the sounds of Ember still coming through the walls. He turned on the sink and splashed his face with some cool water because he had started sweating he was so scared. Trey just used his T-shirt rather than a towel because he knew he was in _her room_ and didn't want to make her any more pissed off than she was now. He shook his head and pondered his current situation

"Aw damn…I've really got myself into something deep…I gotta get out of here before I NYAAHHH!" Trey shouted in surprise because he turned to leave only to have Ember standing about 2 inches away from his face. If Trey's heart was beating, it would be doing 1000 miles a minute. Holding his chest Trey shook out "H-how did you get in here? I locked the door…"

"We're all ghosts here dipstick now you listen to me…" Ember started yelling things at Trey not paying attention to what he was doing. Trey just looked at the floor for about 10 seconds before Ember shook his attention back to her "Pay attention when I'm talking to you dipstick!!!" Ember got so mad, she grabbed Trey's camp shirt and pulled him even closer, just to make sure he got the point "Listen and listen good kid, you're in my world now so what I say goes, so what are you gonna do now?!"

"This…" and Trey went intangible for the first time and phased through Ember's hands and right through the floor. But, he never factored in his landing spot and ended up hitting his back on the floor in the living room below. Trey just lay there and muttered as he sat up "That was…so…stupid…" he stood up and bent back to help stretch the muscles and immediately went for the front door. He put his hand on the knob and was about to turn it when "Just where do you think you're going dipstick?!" Trey flinched as he heard her voice impeding him once again. He just sighed and opened the door while Ember continued to rant her lungs out "Don't think that because Walker stuck your scrawny butt here means I'll baby sit you like a dorky teenage girl so…"

"You know what; did you ever stop to think that this was what _I_ wanted hmm?"

"What do you mean, and where are you going?!"

"Ugh…I can see I'm talking to a brick wall, but to answer your question, I'm going as far away from you as possible, good day!"

"Oh really, where would you go exactly? This is a tough place to live in kid and since you're such a newbie you wouldn't last five seconds before you come crying at my door, begging me to let you back in!"

"I DON'T CARE ANYWHERE IS BETTER THAN HERE!!!!!!!" It was Ember's turn to be stunned. The way he looked at her, and the tone of voice at which he spoke with completely threw her off kilter. Not many people had the guts to yell back at her in an argument, lest having your skin burned off for the rest of time. Trey just slammed the door shut as he walked out. But 5 seconds later, he opened the door again and looked her straight in the eye "Guess what, 5 seconds has gone by and I couldn't care less about this place _hot head_!" he slammed the door again and stomped off. He could tell Ember was even more steamed because he thought he heard something explode inside the house.

* * *

Trey must have been walking for an hour after his argument with the ghost girl who really was like she dressed. He usually doesn't judge a book by its cover, but Ember was one of the few exceptions he made. Hands in his pockets, his eyes screamed death to anyone who looked at them. Trey was so focused on getting further away, he never the noticed the red cloaked ghost he nearly ran into. The ghost turned its head around and started trailing him.

Trey continued walking for another five minutes before he felt like disappearing, and ultimately that's what he did. He stopped to look at himself and just sighed; he had come to terms with the fact that he was a ghost. He figured he had to learn this at some point. He also looked down at a long puddle along the street and finally caught an image of the other ghost who had been following him, and apparently for the past few minutes.

It was searching all around for Trey so he got right up in its face when it turned around to meet him again "Might I ask why you are following me mister?!" The ghost jumped back, stunned by his action. Trey notice the cloak open, and the hood fall off revealing a female ghost. "Okay let me rephrase this, might I ask why you are following me Miss?!" The young, pierced and tattooed ghost, Lydia, brushed herself off and answered "You must be a new guy round here, you're pretty brave wandering these streets alone"

"Oh here it goes again…look lady, I've already taken enough crap from one PMS-ing ghost around here and I certainly don't want more from you"

"Well you should've thought of that before trespassing in my personal space" Trey just slapped his face and dragged his hand down and sighed "Look lady, I'm already in a bad mood as is…"

"Oh you think so, come say that to my face you little wimp." Trey's eyes suddenly glowed with a red hue as he spun around, grabbed her shoulder and pulled her closer to communicate his point "I'm…in…a…bad…mood, now I don't want trouble, and you don't want trouble so I'm going to keep walking this way, and you'll go the other way end of story, bye-bye, see you later!" Trey let her go and proceeded to walk away, but Lydia decided otherwise. "No one touches me but Freddy (Freak Show)!"

Lydia shot a ghost ray at Trey's back and he fell on his knees. Lydia floated over and summoned her tattoos from her body and they started encircling Trey. Trey breathed heavily as his head shot up, eyes glowing blood-red with anger. Lydia only watched as the scrawny man before her changed into a pitch black dragon, with a bloodlust as red as his eyes. She screamed as she called her minions back to her and fled, but Trey gave chase. He spat out fire at random moments of their chase trying to bring her down. Lydia was able to dodge the first five attacks, but the sixth set fire to her cloak and she had to land to put it out.

Trey landed a good 5 feet away and proceeded to let out a roar so loud all the ghosts in a 5 mile radius could hear it. Lydia finally had no choice but to fight. She knew this thing would be tough to bring down so she needed all her power to bring it down, she sent out her tattoos again to distract the dragon while she got some distance between them. Lydia then flew back at him as fast as she could. Soon, she reached speeds of up to 250 mph. Trey finished taking care of the tiny tricksters, but not soon enough as Lydia rammed into him so hard, he skidded for 100 ft and his head ran into a wall soon after.

Although Lydia was knocked out due to such a use of her strength, she succeeded in defeating Trey, who changed back to his human form again. He lay on his back with half his body on one side of the wall, Lydia sprawled over him. Trey soon stirred himself awake "Damn…another head rush…what happened?" His answer was the young woman that was lying unconscious on top of him "Whoa…what the heck happened to her…and why does my head felt like it ran through a wall…wait, I was angry at her a moment ago, but everything else is a blur, did I do this?" Trey turned Lydia on her back and just left her by the giant hole in the wall that he made.

* * *

Another four hours passed since Trey's bout with Lydia, and he had been freaked out since, try to run through his head how the woman he was talking to one second ended up unconscious the next. The stress was overwhelming him deep down to his very inner being. He soon found himself inside a local park and made up his mind to collapse right then and there to relax himself so he could think more clearly. Trey had shut his eyes and his breathing reached a slow and steady pattern. His body was preparing to power down when something woke Trey up "I finally found you boy!" Trey instantly sat up and turned around to find the ghost that had started this whole mess "It's you…that ghost that used me as a lab rat…"

"I would very much appreciate it if you called me by Vlad Plasmius Masters, you do not know how long it took me to put my lab back together after what you did!"

"Okay gramps, I don't know if you were hit in the head, but I have no clue of what you're blabbering on about"

"You don't? Hmm…I guess that blackouts are a side effect of the curse" Vald commented, an evil grin spreading across his lips. Trey eyes widened in fear, he obviously knew something about himself that he didn't "What curse…what did you do to me?!"

"Good question my lad, but I've wasted enough time in letting you figure it out by yourself so I'll just tell you…" and Trey's heart sank in down below his stomach as Vlad told him all about the Amulet of Aragon and how he used it to replicate its awesome powers tenfold into Trey. "My intentions for you backfired when you transformed in my lab and nearly destroyed years worth of work. It made me realize that I underestimated your abilities after I used you to test my thesis. My boy, you now hold a power so destructive that it gets stronger with every passing second and if it's not brought under control soon…your feral instincts could destroy the whole world" those words clinched it. Trey was breathless as he kneeled on the grass, staring at his trembling hands. None of the tainting or threats he had endured as a kid could measure up to something like this. His eyes would not close in such a stunned mood as Vlad spoke again

"This leaves you with only one choice, come with me my dear lad so I can solve this problem and end this all right now…or…suffer the consequences of when the beast inside you takes command, permanently." Still looking at his hands, Trey clenched them into fists and blinked his eyes once. He stood up and glared deeply at Vlad with anger and determination "Vlad…you can take your offer and shove it in the toilet, because as far as I know, you started this whole mess, and I won't let you make it any worse than it is now!"

Stunned by his reaction, and the knowledge of what would happen to him if he had to fight the dragon, Vlad regained his composure. "Very well dear boy…but be forewarned, continue on like this and it _will_ take control over you, and when that day comes, no one will help you" and Vlad sped off back home. Trey just stared into the emerald sky and lowered his hands down to his sides and made a proclamation of his own "You think you can scare me with mere threats Vlad…then you're sadly mistaken. It takes a lot more than words to sway me…I will find a way to stop you, this I swear."

"Finally caught up to you Mr. Trey…" Trey spun around to find Walker standing behind him with Bullet and some random ghost cop. "Am I in trouble Walker?"

"On the contrary, I'm glad you're not. How long have you been out here?" Trey then realized he was supposed to stay at Ember's because the ghost zone was a "dangerous" place, and now he knew why. "I'd say……about five hours, six tops" Bullet and the cop were overwhelmed by his answer "Five hours, but he doesn't have so much as a scratch on him!"

"Exactly Bullet, I'll admit it Trey, you're one of the most intriguing spirits I've ever met and that's saying something. You are one of the few to go out on a limb on your first day and survive this long, but onto business. Now that we know you're still in one piece, I'd like to invite you to our inter-realm ghost to ghost meeting tonight. You'll get a chance to introduce yourself to other ghosts, and hopefully make an ally out of one of them, you in?" Trey looked back at the sky where Vlad had flown off. Remembering his promise, and what Vlad said would happen if he failed, he turned back around with a grin across his lips "Sure, I'll be there"

"Then let's head out, it starts in 10 minutes" and the four of them walked off from the park heading for the place where Trey was to begin his…afterlife in the ghost zone.

* * *

**A/N: Looks like things seem to be lightening up for Trey. But in the ghost zone, nothing is guarenteed. Vlad's proposition was thrown away like garbage, so he will no doubt be back with darker intentions. But for now, Trey is focused on whatever this upcoming meeting will bring up. He still has no clue of the connections all the ghosts he met hold with his cousin, and hero Danny Phantom. If he finds out, what will he do about it? I'll tell you this, things can take a bad turn very quickly if you're not careful. The next installment of the story is: Reality Check**


	5. Reality Check

**A/N:**** Walker has discovered Trey wandering the ghost zone alone, yet unharmed. A feet which he considers remarkable considering the many dangers present in living in a realm of evil spirits. He has invited Trey to attend their next ghost-to-ghost meeting to discuss current issues. But, what will Trey discuss when the topic of Danny Phantom is brought up...  
**

* * *

_**Ch 5: Reality Check!**_

The quadruplet of ghosts (Trey, Walker, Bullet, ghost cop) decided to take a scenic route to the meeting hall. They were able to walk there since it wasn't very far. As the building came into view, Trey's expression showed he was a little impressed. The meeting hall looked like a small scale version of the Connecticut State Capitol building and being from the same state, he was lightly humbled to see a piece of his home somewhere. Walker dismissed Bullet and the cop and they flew off to Trey's southwest, most likely towards the prison where Walker conveniently locks up all of the ghost zone's 'troublemakers' (as if there weren't enough).

The two phantasms came up to the large double doors and phased right on through. Trey followed Walker after shortly forgetting his new ghostly abilities. After what seemed to be a maze of hallways, Trey and Walker finally stopped by a room with a sign that said "Gathering Hall." "Well, this is the place Mr. Trey" Walker commented as he opened the door. Trey stepped inside to find a room that looked a lot like the oval office, only bigger and with a conference table in the middle of the room.

As Trey walked over to one end, he saw that many of the seats had been filled already by other ghosts, and going in a circle he saw a fat woman with a cafeteria outfit (Lunch Lady), a youngish man with a white mullet and a black lab coat (Technus), a short pudgy man in overalls (Box Ghost), and a very attractive woman who looked like she came from an Arabic culture (Desiree), he recognized Skulker from before, and finally, between the Box Ghost and Technus was the single ghost Trey didn't want to see, Ember. "Great…why does she have to be here?" Trey muttered under his breath

"You can take a seat if you want to" Walker suggested to their new arrival. Trey just shot a quick glance at Ember and decided he didn't want to cause any fuss. "Thanks, but I'll stand Walker"

"Very well then" Walker walked over to the opposite end of the table, where the biggest chair was and took a seat. He shuffled a pile of papers in front of him into an organized pile. He then zapped the stack with a ghost ray and let it burn to ashes. He cleared his throat and began to speak "Now that the formalities have been put behind us, let's get this meeting over with because I'm sure we each have our own plans. To start things off, for those who don't know we have a new arrival to the ghost zone. He may not look like much but he was able to survive for 5 hours alone, care to introduce yourself?"

Trey almost didn't hear the question since he was already bored. His look changed when everyone's stares fell on him, especially Ember's who was thinking _'Five hours…dang the kid is good…'_ Trey swallowed the tension in his voice box and answered "Trey…"

"Alright then, onto business…" and the other ghosts became occupied by the ensuing discussion which was something Trey didn't care about. He sighed and shook his head as he whispered "This will be a loooooong meeting" and boy was it ever. For about two hours they discussed things relevant to only themselves and since Trey was still new, those things didn't apply to him yet. No one bothered to notice him when he walked to the corner of the room and sat himself down to stare out the window at the ominous green sky.

It seemed this would never end so Trey soon found himself feeling very drowsy. His eyes finally shut two minutes later as he began to dream, until it was cut short. Walker then changed the subject to the one thing Trey actually knew something about "So what are you reactions on the ghost kid's behavior?" Trey shook himself awake after hearing the words 'ghost kid' because his keen memory had burned the story Vlad had told him into his brain before he even got into the ghost zone. He slowly walked back up to the table and listened closely to what everyone was saying. Ember went first "This isn't like him at all, you think with what we were doing earlier he would've come at us head on"

Trey was now utterly confused at her remark _'What is she talking about…what have these guys been doing with Danny??'_

"Indeed, even after all the attempts we've made on him combined you think he wouldn't resist taking us down"

"Nevertheless, it's been labeled as a minor setback and we'll deal with Danny Phantom when the opportunity presents itself so does anyone have any ideas?"

"Let me handle it this time Walker, his head will be mine for sure this time" Skulker boasted as he punched his fist into his palm

"Yeah right you big lug, did you forget what happened to you before? It took you hours to get out of that fat guy; my magic is obviously faster…and cleaner!" Desiree chirped

"You are all mistaken for I **The Box Ghost** shall be victorious…BEWARE!!!"

After 5 seconds the whole room (sans Trey) started a heated argument. The shouts seemed to change targets every time someone tried to act all high and mighty. The noise was giving Trey a headache after Walker stood up and tried to silence everyone, but his voice only made it worse. After letting this go on for 60 seconds Trey held onto the table and shouted "Will you all BE QUIET?!?!?!?!" The yelling ceased right then and there as everyone stared at the boy who finally decided to participate in the conversation. They kept there gazes on him as they took their seats. "Care to share your opinion on this matter?"

"Yeah Skulker…I just have some questions that I want answered. It's obvious to me that 'Danny Phantom' is the source of a lot of stress amongst all of you, why do you hate this guy so much?" Trey's answer was the blank stares and silent voices of everyone in the room. They had suspected he should've known why the ghost boy was wanted among many a ghost. Trey rubbed his forehead and moved on "Okay, you don't need to answer that…what have you tried to do in the past?"

This time, each ghost was willing to give an overview of each of their encounters with their halfa opponent, in meticulous detail. There were stories ranging from simple raids to complete takeovers of the city. He never even thought that these people would even want to go after such a guy like his cousin. He's Danny Phantom, a world wide famous hero, what would ghosts hold against him? The Box Ghost was about to start, but Trey cut him off "I've heard enough…why did you go after him in the first place?" Walker stood up to speak for the rest of them "All the times he's defeated us are an insult to ghosts everywhere. Our pride is on the line so if you…"

"Stop right there Walker…I have no idea how you came to that conclusion but let me tell you, this is _not_ a matter of pride stupid. Do you even realize what you've been doing all this time?!" Everyone seemed to be blindsided by his question, they had no idea what he was talking about, so Walker gave the only answer clear to him "The ghost kid is nothing more than a problem that needs to be resolved once and for all, and if you continue with such thoughts Mr. Trey, he won't be the only one"

"So let me get this straight…Danny Phantom has caused pain to all of you, so you reciprocate the feeling back to him?" Ember interrupted before he was able to ask anymore questions "You're starting to get kid…"

"And you do this no matter what, or who gets in your way?"

"Obviously, now are you finished?" Ember asked, clearly annoyed at where this conversation was headed. "I don't think so…consider this, did you ever think it was _your_ fault he even attacked you to begin with?"

"What are you trying to prove child?" Technus demanded.

"I mean did you ever think it was your plans that made him fight you and resulted in all of these beatings?" Technus made ready to shoot down his claim, but nothing came from his mouth. Walker broke the silence when no one else could answer "Look kid, I'm sorry to say you're one among one that think like this. What you say maybe true but it still doesn't change one thing, that the real world does not respect our kind. You here the rumors spread every year and now they have someone out there whose part ghost. He should be fighting with us but instead, he's turned on us…on every single ghost here in the ghost zone…including you." Trey widened his eyes slightly, taken a little aback by his claim "W-what do you mean?"

"Look around you…we have all been affected by his existence. He like all other humans could care less about us; did you ever consider the possibility that he _let you die_?" Trey didn't answer. The ghosts all got smirks on their faces. Walker and the others turned back towards the table to proceed with the final announcements, but Trey was far from finished "So what if he did…do you expect me to take my anger out on other people who are in no way, shape or form, connected to the situation? Even if he did, which he didn't, I would not take it out on anyone who need not be involved in conflicts like that."

"What are you blabbering about now whelp?!" Skulker shouted

"The time you were shrunk along with the ghost kid and cared nothing about the dumb blonde with him (Dash from Micro Management)"

"Oh really, so what else do you happen to find _unnecessary_?" Walker spat

"Like you using an entire town as prison just to make him feel like he was in prison" Ember was getting more fed up with this argument every second it went on so she got out of her seat and walked right into Trey's face "Listen here dipstick we don't care what…"

"You are the last person I want to hear from hot head so sit down!" Trey's orbs glared at the blue haired punk rocker in front of him. Ember knew it was pointless to drag this on so she huffed and got back to her seat. Technus spoke up again "What is the point of this incessant chatter?"

"My point is you are ruining countless lives just to get to one person, who I think never did anything to you in the first place! Heck, practically the whole world didn't know ghosts even existed at all at one point!"

"Look here dipstick, if they can't find the intelligence to defend themselves I say screw them, they don't deserve to live" the other ghosts nodded while Trey looked like he witnessed someone's murder. His entire body was still because the significance in Ember's comment had paralyzed him. "Y-you don't care…you never cared…" Ember sighed in annoyance and said "Finally, you understand, now if you don't mind, I'm leaving" and the ghosts made ready to do so when Trey said something else

"H-how can all of you b-be this way? What would your families think if they saw what you were doing?!" Everyone stopped…the words he chose to say were beyond their vocabulary, at least beyond Skulker's, Technus', and Walker's. The others stood frozen by his question. Box Ghost, Lunch Lady, Desiree, even Ember stopped to _finally_ think. Though they never openly admitted it, each of them at one point had something like a family the Lunch Lady and the students she served; she always cared for their health. The Box Ghost and his work friends (he was actually quite funny before he died), the romance between Desiree and her boyfriend the sultan, and Ember and her family. Walker turned back around and faced Trey with utter anger "Look here punk, I don't care about any stupid family, so why are you interfering? Danny Phantom has been nothing but trouble for all of us!"

"Because you have been nothing but trouble for him!" Skulker turned around to shut Trey's mouth once and for all "Look here whelp we…"

"SHUT UP!!!!!!!" As Trey shouted he slammed his fist into the table, making a nice crack down its length. Skulker was astounded that anyone would ever think of treating him so…so…rudely. "What is wrong with you child, why do you insist on defending these worthless beings?!"

"W-what's wrong with me you ask…I'm human that's what…I have a heart, one that still cares for my family and friends even though I'm STUCK IN THIS HELL HOLE WITH ALL OF YOU!!!!!" All the former human ghosts turned around, but Ember kept her back to them because she was in too deep thought to do anything else. _'H-he still…cares??? No way, that's impossible, no ghost I've ever met held any kind of care for any human at all…EVER'_ Ember finally turned around and saw the same thing as the others. Ember had a talent for judging a person from the way they looked, especially in their eyes, which is how she knew to play a love song for a younger Danny and Sam a few years ago.

Trey was no different, his sky blue eyes burned with a fire as bright as any sun. He was determined to keep his word, not matter what. Trey breathed as he stated "I'll defend the whole world from you if I have too…I'm not like you, and I'm certainly not like that crazy fruit loop, Vlad Plasmius." Walker had finally heard enough. He stepped back and rammed his fist into Trey's gut, sending him tumbling to the other end of the room. "W-what…_cough_…was t-that for?" Trey winced

"I'll tell you what, you not only created a problem with me, you've created a mess. You intend to obstruct an officer in the line of duty, not only that, you allied yourself with one of the ghost zone's most wanted. That alone is enough for me to punish you for life! But you're also very lucky, your connections could be helpful to us, take him out of my sight!" Two ghost cops barged in and grabbed Trey's arms and proceeded to take him away. Now Technus might not have been human, but he has to draw the line somewhere "What for?! What has the child done to deserve…"

"Keep quiet mullet man or you'll join him!!!" The ghosts started arguing again which caused Walker to radio for reinforcements to take them all to prison. Not even the cops were paying attention to the sudden build up of power and rage that Trey was having while struggling to free himself. "No…I won't let you h-hurt them…I…won't let…you…HURT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The room suddenly filled with a bright crimson light and the ghosts turned around to see Trey dispose of the cops holding him and slouch himself over.

The light soon shifted to a blood red aura that surrounded Trey's body. Soon his skin became black, his nails turned to claws, his teeth became fangs, and his eyes shot open echoing the red surrounding his body. The room then filled with the roar of a creature that only Skulker was able to recognize "There's no way…it can't be possible!" The aura made a blinding flash through the whole building and when it faded, a mighty dragon stood where Trey was only seconds ago. Trey had been pushed over the edge, and soon everyone was going to pay the price.

* * *

The next thing everyone inside remembered is that they were literally blown away from the building as it exploded. When Trey transformed, the shockwave the aura made when released was so powerful, the meeting hall was a pile of ashes in 2 seconds flat. The ghosts quickly got back on their feet as the dragon came swooping down for a landing, making his presence known with a mighty roar. "Skulker, what is that thing and how bad is it?!" Walker shouted, obviously not expecting what had just happened. "It's that dragon I told you about before, in terms of power…" his scanner overloaded and started going fuzzy "…does that answer your question?" 

"Alright…I don't care what we do just bring that thing down!!!" The ghosts surrounded the reptile on all sides to prepare for their attack, but seeing as their "trust" in each other goes so far, they went one at a time "Beware scaly lizard, for you shall be crushed by the mighty power of **The Box Ghost**…" but he never had a chance as Trey sent him flying into a nearby tree. The Lunch Lady went next, summoning her signature giant drumstick to use as a club. As she swung she made one of her trademark phrases "FEAST ON MY FURY!!!" Alas, she was also doomed to fail as Trey caught the giant hunk of ghost meat in his jaws and let it rip with a flamethrower, leaving the master chef extra crispy.

Trey also knocked her away from the rest of the group to join the cardboard lover in the distance. Ember was prepared to attack, but was caught off guard when Trey came charging at her, but she flew away and escaped harm. Walker knew this would go on forever unless he ended it now, so he, Skulker, Technus, and Desiree surrounded Trey again, and combined their attacks. It looked like it worked as the beast seemed to flinch, but it shook it off and slammed his arms on the ground, sending a shockwave that emitted from the center of his clenched fists.

Being the only one left, Ember prepared herself again and strung a few notes on her guitar. The sonic waves traveled fast enough that Trey never saw them coming. He turned his head and was greeted by one of the loudest noises he had ever heard. Trey actually screamed in agony as Ember's notes mate a direct hit on his ears. But, now his full attention was on the ghost who was causing him pain and he took off with amazing speed right for Ember, who barely dodged the oncoming charge. The two started a local area chase, each trading attacks with the other. For 5 minutes their fight went on until Walker finally got back up and saw evidence of Ember's sonic waves actually wounding the dragon so in his loudest voice possible he shouted

"Ember, that thing appears to be vulnerable to loud noises, keep wailing on him and bring him down!!!" Ember took his advice, for once, and let it rip on her guitar sending a barrage straight for the charging dragon, who took it head on. Walker's theory was correct as Trey free fell to the ground below. Seeing the others back on their feet as well, Walker knew the final move was about to be made "Everyone, strike him while he's vulnerable!" As Trey tried to get back up, he was met with one attack from one ghost. He'd try again, but was met with another attack.

Ember's sonic booms had weakened his power enough that the natural toughness of the scales blanketing his body had lost the majority of their protective power. Trey soon felt the sting of their combined attacks, but he once again surprised everyone when he stood back up on his feet to resist. He let out a roar so loud it became its own attack, the Dragon's Roar. Sonic booms erupted from his mouth and spread out to about 30 meters in diameter, being at a low power level. Only Walker and Ember, who was used to loud noise were able to withstand it, and they even struggled to stay conscious at that level. Everyone else was blown away, unconscious and clearly hurt.

The dragon then fell on his knees and hands as the red aura appeared around him again. He shrunk back to his normal size and his beastly features also disappeared until he was back in his human form again, worn out from the fight. His clothes were slightly torn, he was sweating bullets, and he was panting so hard it was like he never seen air a day in his life. He just held his head, suddenly finding himself with a monster of a headache. "What…on Earth…happened to me now?" He inquired between breathes.

Trey then finally lifted his head and got a full view of ground zero. Whatever was standing out here before was completely leveled, and most of the ghosts he saw were not moving at all. He then turned to find the crater that used to be the meeting hall. He looked back and forth at the hole and the ghosts, and then it finally hit him. He had transformed again, and it was the ghosts who suffered. Normally Trey would shrug this off and move on, but he was someone no one ever considered violent, let alone deadly. The action itself was so beyond his normal personality that all Trey could do was kneel there gazing blankly at the destruction laid by him and before him. He looked down at his hands, which were trembling more than before he transformed.

He closed them in the dirt and let a couple tears fall from his eyes. Never in his whole life had Trey ever resorted to any form of physical confrontation, yet he probably made up for those years of ignorance in the last half an hour. A couple more tears found there way to the overturned ground below him as the comprehension of his deed had finally hit him fully. Ember, having gotten to her feet quickly walked over to his side. She crouched next to the boy, unbeknownst of his mental breakdown "Do you mind telling me what that was all about dipstick?!" She got no answer and pressed further. "What have you become mute now; tell me what's going on kid!"

"I…I…didn't want this…"

"Oh really, you could've fooled me!"

"WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING ASKING ME STUPID QUESTIONS?! YOU CARE ABOUT NOTHING BUT YOURSELF!!!!!" Ember was about to yell at him when she noticed Trey was glaring at her. His eyes, which recently held such strong determination, were now filled with something as equally strong, pain, sadness, and self-hatred. Ember had never seen such strong passion disappear so quickly in anyone before. She then remembered what he had said to all of them back inside, and she couldn't help but feel his latest words actually meant something to her. Ember calmed down and knelt closer to him hoping to calm him down. "Whoa…you okay?"

"…_sniff_…Why do you care?!" Ember couldn't believe it, but she actually felt a pang of regret in his question but she kept trying. "Trey…what happened to you?" Trey only tensed up even more. She was the last person he wanted to talk to, but his emotions were becoming too much for him to contain. Ember felt she was about to get her answers when Walker's reinforcements finally arrived. Walker gave them the order to surround Trey, but do it carefully.

However, seeing how many Walker was going to use, he shoved Ember aside and ran away, tears falling on the ground every few inches. Ember was left alone and somewhat confused, after everything that had happened she still had no answers, only more questions…or so she thought. "Why the hell do you do this to yourself kid…you practically have nothing to gain……he's got nothing to gain…is it really that simple?"

"…I don't care if you have to search the entire universe if you have to just FIND HIM!!!!" Walker then ordered his men to spread and search for Trey who was now on the lamb from his law. Seeing that Ember was the only one conscious he let her have it as well. "Why are you just standing there punk, a monster is out on the loose and…" Ember wasn't paying attention. She had found a place to start drawing her conclusion, and she soon completed it just in time to catch Walker's rant. "For the third time you punk, go after him!!!"

"…no…"

"Excuse me?!"

"I'm not listening to you anymore Walker because of you we nearly died…again!"

"Are you saying this was my fault? No one even realized he had that kind of hidden power!"

"Neither did I…he must've been affected by the Amulet of Ergon thing…"

"I have no idea what your blabbering about punk!"

"It's an old medieval necklace that transforms the wearer into a…why am I wasting my time explaining it to you when you don't care!"

"Funny thing coming out of you princess…are you saying that you care about him?"

"WHAT…no I…I…" Ember was officially stuck. Walker had caught her off guard with this question. Ember was pictured as the typical young rebel, the kind that takes crap from no one and looks out for herself and herself alone, yet here she was defending a total stranger that neither of them knew at all. Ember was at a loss for words while Walker continued his inquiry. "What's wrong punk, all those concerts left you tongue tied? What do you plan to do? The kid's a monster and nothing more so unless you intend to help me bring him in, what else could you possibly do, help him? I highly doubt you'd do something like that!"

That was the last straw, Ember's punk attitude finally returned at Walker's aggressive demands and she got right up in his face too. "Look here you ass, I don't care what you say no one tells me what to do. Do what you want but I'm going to find him myself and get some real answers!" Those were her parting words as she too off to find Trey leaving behind Walker to deal with his own issues. He only grunted and flew off in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, the other ghosts had witnessed their argument and couldn't help but wonder who was right? Even Technus had no clue on how to approach the problem. "What do we do now…what course of action do we take?"

"It's a two sided deal Technus…do we bring the boy in to protect ourselves, or go with Ember to learn the full truth?" Desiree stated leaving the other ghosts in deep thought.

* * *

Ember had been combing the ghost zone for 2 hours since leaving Walker behind. She had flown over three areas to see if she could find any trace of the lost boy. Her search had put her into a large city where a sky view search was useless. She hovered on ground level for another hour, and still found nothing. She just flew off in a random direction, frustrated at not being able to find Trey. She soon found herself in a suburban town a few miles from the city and stopped to rest and think over what she was doing. She knew what she wanted to do, but then she asked why she was doing it. Ember never cared about anyone, at all, ever, at least not since… 

"Holy crap, what am I thinking?! Why do I feel so concerned, I'm a freaking rebel, I'm not supposed to care about anyone but myself……just take it easy girl, you're just finding the kid to get some answers. This kid means nothing to you, he even yelled at you for Christ's sake! Okay…let's keep looking." Ember calmed herself down and once again flew away in some random direction with the small hope of finding the now fugitive ghost before Walker was able to catch him, which would no doubt cut off the only source of reliable information. He search eventually brought her back to her house. Not bothering to wonder why he'd come here she just searched every room inside, twice, but she still couldn't find him.

She flopped onto her bed, frustrated to no end. But, it was in that quiet moment of time, that she heard a faint noise come from above her. Her curiosity controlled her thoughts as she phased through her ceiling and up to her roof. He face shifted to a 'finally found him' look because Trey was sitting on the opposite end, feet dangling over the edge. In his isolation he could hear her footsteps coming closer to him until they were about a foot away from where he was sitting. He wasn't looking at her, but he could tell Ember had her arms crossed, and that she was tapping a steady rhythm with her foot on the roof. Not moving an inch he broke the silence. "Well, what are you going to do to me now?"

"Nothing if you cooperate with me"

"If you're going to be like that I might as well keep my mouth shut for the rest of time!" His anger had risen in his voice again which only added to her frustration. It would continue to build as he phased down into the house and into her room, this time landing on his feet. Ember was not far behind him when she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Now look here dipstick, I didn't waste hours out there for nothing so would you just…" Ember stopped herself when she found his eyes, which once again had that same empty feeling in them from before. As Trey sighed he moved her hand of his shoulder and sat on the floor. "I…I don't consider myself to be an aggressive figure…"

"Okay…"

"What that's it, no witty retort?"

"Just continue please"

"Fine…actually, I should say I no longer think of myself as aggressive. I was only a kid when I learned to control my anger...I started my late childhood with no friends at all and I didn't like it and I almost got into fights because of it. One day, one the few friends I did make left me alone to sort this problem out myself…and it helped become who I…was back in the real world."

"Aaaaaand why were you such a bum about it?"

"The answer to that question is on a need to know basis, and quite frankly, you don't need to know" Trey said quiet bluntly

"Hey kid, how do you expect to help you if…wait I don't mean _help_ help you I just…thought…" Ember was at a loss for words. That was the only thing she thought she could say without angering him again. Given that his answer wasn't big enough, she did get some answers, though there were spots that needed to be filled in. "Forget about it Ember…you already have by just talking this over with me."

"Don't mention it…and I'm serious when I say that." Ember rolled her eyes in annoyance. There was something about the way he behaved around her and other ghosts that didn't sit right with her. The fact that he would even admit he still cares about someone out there pressed a button or two in her head that just simply made her mad. _'This kid is doesn't know what he's saying. There will always be a reason out there for a ghost to forget these pathetic emotions and move on. He just needs to find his……and I'll make sure he does, but I'll have to keep him calm so he won't do anything drastic and take off on me.'_ She then noticed Trey get up off her bed and move back downstairs, so she followed him. Her suspicion was that he was heading out the door again, but instead he went into her living room and laid himself on the couch. "What do you think you're doing kid?"

"What, would you prefer I use your room?" Ember, remembering her plan, held back her outburst. "Thought not…" and Trey dozed off. Ember continued to stare at him for a few seconds before sighing and heading up to her room so she could rest because she really needed some sleep after what happened just now. She put her guitar on the stand by the door and shut her door, with a confident smirk escaping her lips. She was sure her plan would work, and she only needed one day before Trey was finally out of her hair.

* * *

**A/N:**** I hope you see the changes made in the conversation between Ember and Trey. It lloks like it's Ember's turn to plot something for the unfortunate Trey. She plans to make him forget his uselss human emotions and become as dark and twited as any other ghost in the ghost zone, because that's the way all ghosts are supposed to be right? We won't know for sure until we hear Trey's thoughts on the matter in chapter 6: Betrayal: Ember's Long Forgotten Feelings**


	6. Betrayed

**A/N:**** Finally, after a long period of writer's block I finally have something ready. I warn you now, this chapter is 10,000+ words long!!!!!! I apologize for its length but I couldn't find a suitable ending point anywhere inbetween I hop eyou'll forgive me. Anywho, we last leftTrey in the care of Ember, who was planning something awful for him once h got up next morning. But to kick things off, I bring you to the bedroom of Danny Fenton...**

* * *

_**Ch 6: Betrayal: Ember's Forgotten Past**_

The early morning sun of May 5th finally hit Danny's bedroom window. His clock hit 8:30 am and his alarm had not gone off. It did not go off because 1: it was a Saturday and since he did not have school, he did not set his alarm so he could sleep in, 2: he never had the chance to set it because after his latest ghost fight (Trey in dragon form) he was wiped, and 3: he did not want to disturb the angel sleeping next to him. A lot had happened yesterday. Everything was going so well until Vlad showed up. Yet, in his grief he was lucky to have someone like Sam to support him. The past three years or so had been filled with many obstacles, but they were able to surpass them together. Sam was just as tired as Danny from yesterday so much so that the two went to his room after beating their newest enemy, the pitch black ghost dragon with eyes as red as the blood flowing through their bodies.

Danny continued to stare at the raven haired beauty slumbering next to him. He wanted so bad to return to that state of peace, where no one could disturb you even if they tried. But, one fact entered his mind that made his heart jump. Sam never went home last night. If word gets out to her parents that she was not home because the son of the family they despised was sleeping with her, they would have his head on a silver platter, quite literally too. He tried to get to his feet, but, out of reflex, he felt Sam's arms constrict him more. She shifted her weight to the side facing Danny as she mumbled "No…don't go…" Danny knew he was in a tough spot so the only thing he could do was as Danny Phantom.

He transformed and went intangible and back quick enough to catch Sam before her fall woke her up. He slowly picked her up bridal style and out of instinct she placed her arms around his neck. Danny blushed slightly, but took off as he phased through the roof of Fenton Works. Knowing a fairly quick flight path around Amity Park, he was able to get to the Manson house in less than 5 minutes. He phased through the window by Sam's room and went solid. Walking by the many spooky looking objects she had collected over the years, she laid her down on her poster bed. He grabbed the blanket and slowly pulled over her body. Sam the shifted around till her back was facing the kindred spirit behind her. Danny took that as his cue to leave before her parents came in to wake her up.

As soon as he got outside, Danny opted to take the scenic route home. The early morning sun left an ambient beauty on the town so he felt he couldn't let a moment like this pass by so easily. He stuck his hands in his pockets and started walking. He took his time along the different streets and sidewalks eventually walking by the park. He made a detour so he could enjoy the calm environment. Oddly, enough, before his last encounter with Vlad, ghost attacks had been on an all time low for the first time ever.

Danny found a bench and took a seat watching the cars drive by on the roads surrounding the fresh grass. Families taking an early morning holiday with their children. There were also a few kids getting some air while doing the homework that got assigned over the weekend. But, Danny did not have to worry about such things since the end of the school year was fast approaching. He looked up at the sky and smiled as he said to himself "Wow…what a day…I wonder what Trey is doing up there?"

* * *

The now late Trey Fenton was also getting a well deserved rest, though it was on someone's couch, heck he thought it was better than the floor. If anyone needed sleep more than Danny, it was him. Heck if you had died, become a science experiment, and nearly get arrested in a dimension full of ghosts, and all in one day that just happened to be your birthday, you'd be spent as well. His light breathing was the only other sound in the whole house, at least on the floor.

On the upper level, one could hear sounds of running water. If one were to investigate, he/she would find it coming from behind a locked door. Despite having flaming hair, Ember always found time for a morning shower (because apparently one thing ghosts can retain is body odor). She had been washing up for about 10 minutes trying to wipe away all the dust and stuff that caked on her pale body after fighting with the specter that now lay asleep below her feet. After another 5minutes she shut off the water, stepped out into her room and dressed in her usual black outfit. She ignited her hair and phased down through the floor into her kitchen. Why she had it she would never know. She was a ghost she hadn't been hungry in years so she just moved into her living room.

She was slightly startled to find someone sleeping on her couch, but she had not forgotten yesterday's events. Ember continued to gaze at the young man who seemed quite comfortable on the plush cushions. His breathing was steady, yet silent and his mouth was open a crack. A coy smirk suddenly appeared across her face, she was thinking of various ways to wake him up. What would she do, make the sofa go intangible and let him fall through, or maybe she would use her guitar.

But no, she opted for a more civil approach. She went back into the kitchen and got a small glass of water. Ember went back up to the couch and positioned the glass over Trey's face. In a second, she flipped the glass over and she watched the water splash onto his face. She knew it worked as she saw his face scrunch in on itself. Ember's smirk grew at the expression as he sat up and dried off. "Was that really necessary?"

"What, would you have preferred me to use my guitar?" Trey didn't bother making a retort to that. He calmly sighed and stretched his arms before slowly walking up to the front window. He shifted a portion of the blinds aside to get a view of the small front yard and out into the street. Ember couldn't make out the transparent reflection of his face made in the phantasmal glass. His face was like a blank slate, no emotion could easily be read as his stared out into the horizon. "What are you doing there kid?"

"You know as well as I do that Walker hasn't given up his search for me. Either way, I better get going."

"Going where exactly?"

"Anywhere, I mean our agreement was that I would only stay the night am I correct?" Ember stuttered at his question. She assumed that Trey was a naturally stubborn guy since yesterday, but she actually thought he'd never keep up his streak of keeping true to his word. Trey didn't look at her for long before moving out of the living room for the front door. He opened it normally and strolled out over the porch closing the door behind him. Remembering the plans she made last night, Ember quickly moved to stop him. Trey was almost out at the street when he heard the door open again.

He turned to find Ember running down the sidewalk to catch up to him. He sighed again wondering what crazy thing she wanted to tell him now. "Is there anything else that you want before I disappear hot head?" Before he had time to think about rebelling, Ember had taken him by his arm and had started pulling him along behind her. Trey was expecting her to do something crazy, this sure fit the bill. It was only just hours ago that they were a hair line's thickness away from tearing away at the other's face. The Ember he was looking at now had completely changed. Though she still gave no care about what he thought on the situation, her mood had changed from a selfish stuck up witch to something along the lines of a mother leading her child by the hand. Such a mood swing he did not even think to expect from someone like her.

Before he knew it, they had stopped in what seemed to resemble a local park. Ember had let go of his arm and proceeded to shift her gaze in multiple directions as if she were trying to find something. Trey continued to look at her absolutely confused out of his mind but before he could speak up, Ember had grabbed him again and led him due east until they came upon a large clearing. Ember motioned for Trey to follow her and she started flying away. Trey just stood there looking back and forth, up and down like a total moron. Ember stopped and hovered back in front of him with a stupefied glimmer in her eyes. "What do you think you're doing kid, let's move!" Trey opened his mouth and closed it twice trying to find the right way to say… "I…I c-can't fly…"

"……Uh, could you repeat that, I think there was something wedged in my ear I thought you said that…"

"I can't fly…yeah I said that" Ember gave him a glare that screamed what the hell is wrong with you. But rather than have a pointless argument she sighed and picked him up under his arms and she was off again. After about 30 seconds in the air, Trey finally noticed a swirling green circle ahead of them. At that point Ember picked up her speed and they were through before it disappeared.

* * *

"Bullet, what's your current status?"

"Nothing new to report since this morning Walker, it's like the guy up and vanished"

"No ghost can completely disappear, our scanners have kept a lock on his trail since our investigation started at the…former…meeting hall. Turn over every rock, break down every door that kid is in the ghost zone somewhere and once we find him, I'll erase him from his worthless existence" Walker turned in his chair as he shut off the connection between him and one of the many squads he had patrolling all areas he knew of in the ghost zone. His search for the boy now labeled as a maximum security threat had lingered on since the meeting hall had been demolished.

He had sent out his troops to investigate any lead they had no matter how big or small it was. Skulker was right, this kid was nothing to play around with and if he got out of control again, it could put the whole ghost zone "out of order" as he put it. But after 12 hours of searching he was starting to lose what little patience he had left. Trey had stood against everything he had made in the ghost zone and he would make sure that similar ideals would end with him. Not to mention Ember had the nerve to try and prove him wrong about him in the first place. Walker is never wrong and if you think otherwise, then it's game over for you. Walker's anger had reached fever pitch a long time ago and he was ready to kill the next person to give him any kind of bad news. "Sir we may have something…"

"For your sake it better be good Bullet, now what is it?"

"We've actually expanded our search again and are ready to search a house we may think he maybe hiding in" slightly intrigued Walker looked at the building in detail on the screen. After 5 seconds his eyes widened slightly before slanting into an evil looking form with an equally evil grin to match. "Of course…leave it to me to have already left the answers right under my nose…"

* * *

Meanwhile, a similar looking bright green swirl appeared in the sky over Amity Park. Sooner or later, two people could have been seen flying overhead if anyone had noticed. Ember and Trey were very lucky they weren't spotted otherwise a panic would've quickly spread and no doubt would've caught unwanted attention of human and ghost alike. As soon as Ember saw they were flying over a flat enough terrain, she flat out let go of Trey and let him fall.

His eyes widened and he gasped in slight shock because Ember had let him go with an inner hope that he would hit the ground, and then the laughs would ensue. But, to refute her beliefs, he quickly straightened himself out so that he was falling feet first. Luckily, he was fast enough to land right on his feet, but his due to his velocity, he had to crouch down to make a comfortable enough stop. He stayed still like that for five seconds and soon stood up straight again. Ember was staring in awe at his sudden reflexes but pouted as she landed by his side "You are no fun, stupid"

"You'd do the same thing if you couldn't fly I'm sure of that…where are you going?" Trey had noticed Ember had turned her back towards him and was preparing to take off once again. She looked back and smirked "What does it look like? I'm going somewhere else so you can have time for yourself"

"Forgive me if I don't agree with you…" Trey said with a small glare of concern knowing the power Ember held and what she had previously done with it, he still didn't trust the ghoulish vocalist entirely "…how do I know you're not going to enslave the whole city again?"

"Could you do anything if I did?" she confidently commented. Trey just crossed his arms and retorted back "I don't know, why don't we ask the dragon" Ember was slightly taken aback at the anger in his voice at mentioning his rather beastly alter-ego. She knew since last night that it was a tender subject for him to bring up, especially seeing first hand the destructive capability it held. She saw him turn around arms still crossed in annoyance so she walked up to him and placed her hand on his left shoulder. "This is why I brought you here idiot. I don't always try to take over the city every time I come here now would you just calm down and go out already?"

"Promise me that you'll stay out of trouble" Trey held up his right hand with is pinky extended. Ember rolled her eyes as she made a pinky swear not to cause trouble but she secretly crossed her other fingers out of his sight. "You sure can be a spoil sport you know that?" she let him go and took to the skies. Trey just watched her vanish into the morning clouds and he was soon left alone again. He kept his eyes on the spot where he last saw the snobby punk rocker for a while as if to ensure she would keep her promise. Then he started observing his current surroundings.

He had not been gone from the world for very long but to see some familiar sights was enough to clam his emotions so he could think straight. "I hate to say it…but the hot head is right I need to relax…" so he went invisible as to avoid the attention of the dozens of other people wandering about and started off in a random direction toward the city. But, his chosen path was probably somewhat determined for him already because he soon found himself at the door of a place he wanted so badly to see, Fenton Works. Had he not been in his accident he would have been here already enjoying the company of his relatives.

He slowly moved forward up to the front door and reached out his hand to turn the door knob. But, he stopped himself at the last minute opting instead to make full use of the ghost powers he did have (and could control). As he inhaled and exhaled Trey's first smile within the past 12-24 hours had appeared. He had not been here in years, probably because his aunt and uncle's work freaked out his parents too much that they hadn't visited in a long time. Everything looked just as it did all those years ago, the furniture, the light, even the scent of rotting ham was all too familiar to him and yet he wondered…were they still involved with ghosts as much as he remembered?

He quietly walked over to the basement door and crept down the stairs so as not to wake anyone who may have been sleeping. It was a weekend so there was no school and knowing his cousin, he'd be sleeping in. He finally went through the opening that allowed him to enter the lab. His eyes widened a little noticing the rather huge door at one end of the room. He remembered Jack and Maddie working on a ghost portal last time he was here, perhaps they finished it. His eyes soon caught the small pile of debris that was accumulated at the opposite end of the lab.

Trey narrowed his eyes as he shifted his gaze to the damaged wall. He walked up in front of it for a closer look. Judging from the size of the dent made into the metal, something big was rammed into it. Trey extended his hand to touch the broken wall, but when he did he felt his head jolt with pain, and a low pitched growl echoed through his ears. Falling on his knees and holding his head, Trey began to wonder what exactly happened here. How did the wall get damaged, and what was this sinking feeling in his stomach? Was it possible that he had done this?

Rather than aggravate his condition he quickly left the lab and went back outside to regain his composure unaware of the eyes that had been aware of his presence. Sam had recently woken up in Danny's room after finding out that he had left for some unknown reason. She had meant to go out and look for him, but the ghost that had made its way into the house became her priority. Though she didn't see its face, she figured it seemed distressed seeing as it was holding its forehead. Before she could say anything it ran out the door and Sam went after it. She flung the door open, but found no one there.

She looked around for a trace of the stranger but found no one, and then she had a bit of a grim thought. "Did he turn invisible…well I guess there's only one way to find out if I have a ghost on my hands. Now where did his parents put their tracking equipment?" She went back inside and shut the door. Trey then reappeared on the front stoop a little surprised to see a familiar face in the house though he didn't ask why. Danny had introduced him to the Goth girl years ago. He was pleasantly surprised to find how much she had changed. His thoughts then went to the statement she made about the ghost tracking devices. He took this as his cue to leave before he was unwillingly discovered.

* * *

Danny was still planted on the bench at the park, still admiring the summertime scene around him when he suddenly felt his ghost sense tingling inside him. Dashing behind a nearby tree he transformed and started to search from the sky. His breath was still visible meaning it was somewhere nearby so he sped off towards the possible location of his spectral visitor. He landed somewhere in the middle of the street drawing the attention of a few young fans, and a few members of the paparazzi. "It's the ghost kid, get him before he escapes!"

"Ugh…not again…" Danny took off once again while the whipped out their cameras, got in their car, and started the chase. After three years of fighting ghosts, he had to grow used to the media attention he suddenly gained. Danny flew low to the ground at a fast enough speed to keep the cars far enough behind him. When the next alley came by he stopped and turned into it and immediately disappeared. The cops stopped and got out of the car and made their way into the tight space, but found no trace of Danny Phantom, so they left defeated. Danny turned visible again, this time as a human and sighed.

"I use the same trick all the time and these guys always fall for it? Are they really that idiotic?" He wouldn't have long to think on it because his ghost sense went off again. A chill lit up his spine, which meant whatever it was, it was fairly close by. Danny flew out of the alley and followed the strange being to a nearby rooftop in some random area of the city. There was a small crowd of people below and he soon realized that this was a spot where a lot of kids his age gathered for weekends, the popular, snobbish kids that is. Danny thought nothing of it and made to move elsewhere when he heard the distant sounds of music coming from below him.

Danny turned back and looked down as another blue vapor trail exited his mouth. Taking into account the entire scene which was a large number of teenaged kids, music seemingly coming from nowhere, and his ghost sense bugging him like crazy, it only added up to one thing. Sure enough as he landed in the back of the crowd he saw a soundstage appear in the front, with an undead band playing a fast paced, rock beat. The moment Danny heard a female voice start singing this only confirmed what he already knew; Ember was back for another go at world domination.

You think after years of trying she'd at least have some new material, but no. She was once again belting out her hit single _RemEmber_. By the time she reached the first chorus she had brainwashed all the kids in the area and the resulting echoes were drawing more people toward the crowd. Danny knew he had to act fast before the chanting began and Ember would become too powerful to handle. He started phasing through the crowd and made a beeline for the stage. Luckily the crowd was thick enough that Ember didn't notice his still visible outline. Once Danny was at the front, he disappeared and jumped onstage. He was able to find an extra microphone which he activated just in time for Ember's song to end.

"Okay people, tell me who you love?!?!?!" Soon the young adults began chanting her name something which Ember had been waiting for. As their voices echoed, her body started tingling, and she suddenly felt relaxed and fully energized. Her mind became clear and soon her hair was a blazing tower about 10 feet tall. This was her drug, the cheers of her audience was the best thing any performer would want to hear. Though she was a ghost, she never felt more alive in her life before. It was at times like this where she forgot everything around her. The only thing she could discern was herself, her supporters, and her critics. At this point Ember could do anything.

She grabbed her mic stand and was ready to play her encore and gain even more power when an earsplitting noise erupted from the surrounding speakers. The whole crowd covered their ears as the sound waves traveled further forward. Ember immediately recognized this problem as the result when a mic is placed in front of a speaker. The small bits of sound enter the mike and continually amplify until the speakers started screeching like nails on a blackboard. She looked to the side and found a microphone placed in front of speaker #2 and blasted it to pieces.

Only seconds later did she realize that she had lost her crowd and when she turned around she saw they were running away. Whatever extra power she had amassed had vanished over the course of three seconds until her normal power level returned (only when she's booed off can her power decrease below her normal). Her face tightened and fists closed in frustration, she was so close…AGAIN! This only meant one thing…"You really need to pay more attention to your equipment Ember." The vocalist spun around and was eye to eye with Danny Phantom, apparently the one responsible for ruining her performance as he stood next to the microphone she had just destroyed. "I can only imagine how much one of those things must cost."

"Save it dipstick do you realize what I'm about to do to you?!"

"Are you going to torture me with your lame music? Seriously you need to get some new writers." Ember refused to take anymore and let her fingers do the talking as she rolled them over her strings creating her traditional sonic blast. Danny non chalantly formed a ghost shield which easily blocked her attack. Having faced her along with several other ghosts, Danny had their attack patterns engraved into his skull should he ever need them. But, he also knew Ember, like most of the other ghosts he faced, was as stubborn as an angry mule so she was far from a pushover. Danny answered with his own ghost ray which Ember also avoided, but it left a nice hole in the stage. The two ghosts then made a mad dash for the other ready to let the party get underway.

* * *

**A/N:**** Looks like some things will never change. Ember has once again chosen to ignore the advice of others for her own personal gain...but isn't that what all of the ghosts do? Danny is going to have his hands full this time around...but what about Trey? Sam knows he's there, but she doesn;t know Trey's Trey. What will happen when the two meet? And what will go down should Trey learn of Ember's fight? See all in part 2...**


	7. Suffer The Consequences

_**Ch 7: Suffer The Consequences  
**_

Sam finally left Fenton Works with a small array of ghost gear complete with Specter Deflector, Jack-o-Nine Tails, Fenton Phones (just in case), and the Specter Speeder. It had a scanner that could quickly locate any intruding ghosts in the local area. She soon made a lock on and quickly flew to the given coordinates. She was lucky that Danny's parents had left for places unknown. They left a note saying they'd be gone for a few days.

After a minute or so, the speeder stopped right over the location of her target and she put the vehicle in hover so she could have a look around. She was fortunate to know that no one was around so at least she wouldn't be interrupted. She took out a small tracking device and started looking around. As she moved toward a row of bushes the signal got stronger and stronger still. The moment she was a finger's reach away she was startled by a nearly invisible blue blur that seemed to go right through her body. As she fell back Sam looked behind her to see the ghost she had been trailing running off into the city, shortly followed by a pair of ecto-seeking missles which were following it. As Sam got to her knees, she heard the sound of jets zoom over her head and she caught the sight of Valerie flying off on the same trail as her missiles.

No sooner did they disappear than the ghost reappeared with the missles inches from his back. At the last second he went intangible and the missles phased through him and hit the ground. Sam brought up her arms but that didn't help her as she was blown back by the shockwave of the explosion. She coughed twice as the dust vanished and caught a view of two grave sized craters where the ghost would have been torn to pieces in if it wasn't kneeling on the other side.

The two met eyes as time seemed to stop for them. Trey had finally noticed that Sam had caught up to him, while Sam was still trying to register his face. Seconds later, Valerie returned and grabbed Trey by the collar on his camp shirt and pulled him up to her face, with a wrist gun pointed right at his temple. "I'm not gonna ask you again ghost who are you working for and why are you here?!"

"And I'm not going to keep repeating myself you crazy woman let me go or else! I've already taken down a building and I don't want to…_crud I'm only making this worse she does not look pleased_…"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blast you back to the ghost zone right now!" Trey knew reasoning with her had become futile as she began to charge her weapon. With it pointed right at his head it was ready to do a number on him. He shut his eyes and made ready for the inevitable when he heard someone shout "Valerie wait!!!" The hunter looked below to find Sam waving her arms in an attempt to stop her from shooting. She was slightly confused as to how Sam knew it was her, but she figured since she was with Danny among his ghostly adventures she'd have to know. She deactivated her jet board and landed on the ground all the while keeping her grip on the ghost she now held captive. "Look Manson, I'm aware of what you and Danny do when it comes to ghosts. I figured I would do you a favor but if this is how you…"

"Val believe me when I say I totally appreciate your intentions…but this one's…different shall we say."

"Oh yeah, how exactly?"

"I'm Danny's cousin that's how!" Valerie returned her gaze to the ghost man she was holding. He could tell she didn't believe him with the look she currently had on her face, so Trey started searching his pockets on his shorts and shirt until he removed a small slip of paper. "Here, this proves what I'm saying is true and if it doesn't you can blast me." Val gave on last glare at Trey before scanning the photo. Judging by Danny's small size it was obviously taken years ago, but indeed what Trey said was right as he was giving the young Danny a piggy back ride on his shoulders. She let go of Trey for a closer look.

Valerie had to rub her eyes before she could fully believe what she saw. In the meantime, seeing Danny's favorite relative, Sam rushed over to Trey's side and gave him a hug for the ages, neglecting to remember one thing as he screamed "YEOOOOWCH!!!" Sam let go and immediately looked down to her waist to find the Specter Deflector still clamped around her. Trey shook off the shock of the belt and Valerie deactivated her suit. She was still surprised by the fact that Sam knew someone like him, but nevertheless she tried to make up for her blunder. "Hey there…uh sorry about the whole blast you back thing…"

"Don't apologize…I'm sure my uncle and aunt would've done the same thing."

"So Sam, does your friend mind telling me a story?" Trey was happy to oblige and filled Valerie on what she asked about. With questions ranging from his name to how well he was connected to Danny, it soon got to recent events. "Well…how'd you end up in the ghost zone?"

"Well Val…I died yesterday when my car went airborne and rolled me over a bunch…"

"Wait…you were the victim in that car crash yesterday?!"

"Yeah…apparently news travels fast around this city when it comes to ghosts."

"I got one more question for you…Trey right?" He nodded and readied himself for what Valerie was about to ask him, but his preparation would do him no good in the end. "Did you get a clear view of who killed you?" Trey was taken aback at her question. Over the last day or so he had been asked many things back in the ghost zone, but this wasn't one of them. "No…I remember seeing this magenta light for a second or so before my car became an airplane"

"Well maybe I can fill in the blanks." Valerie put on her suit again to access its database. As numerous files and images flew by she eventually found what she wanted and turned on a small projector on her wrist. "I did a little investigating of my own after all the med crews and such cleared out. I found small traces of ecto energy left behind. I had my suit do an analysis and this is who it matched with." A holographic image of Plasmius emerged right before their eyes.

Trey's eyes showed no change, he figured it was him after the cockamamie story he told him. It was not long ago that this very halfa had ghost-napped him for his dark plans, which didn't go as planned. He just sighed and said "Well…I guess this makes perfect sense." Sam didn't like that kind of tone. It only meant that Trey knew something neither she nor Valerie had any clue about. She turned Trey to face her, concern spreading over her face as she could only imagine what Danny would think if he were here now. "Trey…what are you talking about, how do you know Vlad?!"

"It's a long story Sam one not worth explaining right now, where's Danny? I came out here to talk with him." Valerie, knowing exactly what Trey wanted activated her radar and soon picked up not one, but two other ecto signatures. "Well, he's about a mile and a half due south of our current position, but he's not alone, there's another ghost with him." Trey's heart did a double take at her words remembering the one who brought him back to the real world "Oh no……tell me she didn't…"

"Trey…are you alright?"

"…We need to get to Danny right now!" Trey got to his feet and started running of towards Danny's location. Valerie stopped him by grabbing his shoulder and said "If you need to get to him that bad, you better come with us."

"Alright, I'll have to hitch a ride with one of you, for some odd reason I can't fly yet." The girls didn't waste time as Trey hopped into the Specter Speeder with Sam. Valerie called up her board and the trio was off with breakneck speed. It took them near 15 seconds to reach Danny's position and judging from the small clearing beneath them, a battle was, and was still taking place as they heard the sounds of ghost rays and other various attacks. "Looks like your boyfriends been busy this morning Manson"

"What do you expect it's the way he works, you should be grateful."

"Believe me I am…looks like it's that punk rocker again"

"Her name is Ember Valerie. Her game is brainwashing any and all teens she can find. When they chant her name she gets more powerful. From the looks of things we won't have to worry about that." Sam was ready to continue her analysis of the current situation when she remembered her other passenger. She thought that telling any of this in front of Trey would freak him out to no end. She turned around to try and calm him down, but instead found the place next to her empty "Where the hell did he go?!"

"Does that answer your question?" Valerie pointed down to the ground and indeed Trey had jumped down from the roof, and was currently stomping his way up to the stage, where the battle between the other ghosts was taking place at the moment. Worried for his safety, the two girls flew down after him to keep him back from getting hurt. By the time Sam caught up enough to get in front of him, that's when she stopped, a stunned look across her face. Valerie, noticing Sam standing still flew down to her "What's wrong Manson, I thought you were going to stop him."

"I'm not so sure of that anymore. You didn't see it…his face was……different, I think we need to take a closer look into this." The hunter opted to follow Sam's idea so they kept a fair distance between them while Trey made his way up onto the stage. Meanwhile, the battle between Danny and Ember had once again grown to a standstill. Ember had been unusually persistent this time around and Danny had no idea why. This was proven by the fact that her guitar was still intact, usually Danny would've totaled it a long while back. Something was obviously bugging her but she wasn't about to give away any clues "You don't know when to quit do you dipstick?!"

"I could say the same for you I don't think I've ever seen you this pissed off before, did someone try hitting on you or something or is it that time of the month?" If there was any buttons left to press in Ember's head, Danny pressed the last one because the next second he was flying backward into the last remaining speaker by Ember's sonic waves. As Danny shook the dizziness from his brain, Ember slowly walked over to the broken sound amplifier and cranked the volume on her guitar to the maximum.

"I thought you couldn't be more annoying kid, but congratulations you reached a new low on my dipstick chart! I should've done this the moment I saw you, say goodbye baby pop!" Ember charged her power into her guitar and raised her hand for the coup de grace. She was about to finish the ghost boy for good when she suddenly felt something tap at her shoulder. Shutting her eyes and sighing in annoyance she turned her head and was quickly met with a right hook right to her face. She was sent back a good 5 feet from a combo of a dropped guard and the strength of the puncher. Getting to her knees she wiped the small trickle of ectoplasm from her lip as her anger reappeared in her eyes. "You know punk you've really picked a fine time to get involved. Do you have any idea who you're dealing with?!"

"Yes I do hot head!!!" Ember's eyes widened slightly at the tone of the clearly male voice when he said hot head. She turned around and was face to face with Trey, who was showing the same anger toward her the she had directed at Danny not too long ago. Needless to say, his appearance had caught her by surprise "W-what the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question Ember and it seems clear to me that you either didn't pay attention to what I said before or you just flat out refused to listen!"

"What the crap are you saying now?!"

"Have you forgotten about what happened at the meeting hall already, then its official, you've become an idiot!!!" The two bickered on about who was more stupid while Danny finally freed himself from the speaker's wiring. As he looked at the two arguing ghosts Sam and Valerie finally came out of hiding and joined Danny on stage. They were quick to notice the flabbergasted expression plastered on his face "S-Sam….is t-that who I think it is?!?!?!"

"It's a long story Danny…and we may find out more if we keep quiet and listen." The trio turned their vision back at Trey and Ember who only seemed to be deeper into their spat. "What in all of Earth gave you the idea to do this?!"

"It's the way I roll kid I've already explained it to you before!"

"And I've also explained to _you_ that it's not Danny's fault you've ended up like that! I trusted you to stay out of trouble and what do you do, you shove it in my face!"

"Hey it's not my fault your so gullible, did you seriously think I'd keep a silly promise like that, and you call me an idiot!" It was obvious to Danny and the girls that the two met somewhere before and somehow got on the other's bad side in the worse possible way. But, Danny was still trying to recover from the shock of how Trey, one of his closest friends, knew Ember at all. His ears were the most open to the conversation as they continued. "So sue me for trying to be a nice guy."

"Trust me kid, nice guys finish last in the ghost zone, you keep this up and you'll be cowering in fear of the Box Ghost!"

"_Trust_ you, give me one good reason to trust you!"

"Exactly!!! Look at yourself kid you've become one of us! Each and every ghost in the entire ghost zone is only looking out for one individual, themselves so stop this crap about family and caring it's giving me a headache!"

"And become someone like you, I'd rather shoot myself in the head with a shotgun!" Ember was getting ticked off more than ever before in her whole life. Only once had this happened to her before but she gave up and walked away. This time she was determined to be the victor in this quarrel one way or another. No one ever messes with Ember McLain or else. "Oh my freaking god…why the hell are you being so stubborn?!"

"Because this is how _I_ work hot head whether you like it or not, I don't care what you or anyone else thinks back in that hell hole of a dimension I will always love my family, no matter what may come!!!" Trey's words had actually silenced the punk rocker. Trey huffed and turned his back to her and began to walk away. Trey was frozen in his tracks when he suddenly hears her laugh like someone had just told her the funniest joke in the world. Trey only turned his head and asked "What the hell is so funny?!"

"Wow……I can't believe I never saw this before…"

"Saw what?!"

"You kid…I can't believe I didn't realize how pathetic you are." Trey's eyes remained in their blank look, but something else had gone off inside alerting him of the direction this argument was about to take place. He turned back to face Ember once again as her laughter ceased and was replaced with a smirk. "I can't help but ask myself, were you like this your whole life?" Trey continued to stare at her but gave no answer. Ember went wide eyed and laughed again "Wow……you must've gotten a lot of flack when you were a kid with that attitude." It was Trey's turn for his eyes to go wide, but not in amusement, but in shock.

Though Danny couldn't see his face, he had a good idea of what Trey was feeling now '_Ember…you have no idea of the line you've just crossed over._' Danny kept his focus on his cousin and Ember as Trey spoke up again. "Don't…say…that…" it was obvious to everyone that Trey's mood had taken a bad turn, but how bad was yet to be seen as Ember continued to taunt him. "I mean come with an oblivious attitude like that now I know why every ghost in the ghost zone is after your hide."

"O-oblivious…?"

"Yeah, you're so focused on the "love" for your family you even fail to see when your about to become a target for some wild creature out there, I imagine it was a similar case for your childhood…oh man I can't believe I ever pitied you!" Trey had lowered his head and shut his eyes. His hands had been tightly balled in on themselves. Anyone around would've been barely able to hear his voice as he said "And I can't believe I ever thought of envying you." Sam, Valerie, and Danny just remained still, trying to process everything they had heard into something that made sense. Ember…her laughter only increased "Holy crap just when I thought you couldn't be more of a wuss hahahahahahahaha!!!"

If there was ever a time that Ember needed to shut up, it was now. But, in an attempt to stay true to himself, Trey turned his back to her and walked away. "Awww are you gonna cry, not only are you pathetic, you're a big baby too!" There was nothing anyone could do to stop what was about to happen in the flash of 3 seconds, Trey's eyes shot open to reveal pupils as red as blood itself and in the last 2 seconds, he bolted across the stage with blinding speed and sunk his fist right into Ember's gut.

Complete silence fell the entire area as Ember went from taunting laughter, to almost coughing up ectoplasm as she fell on her knees. As she lifted her head she noticed a small wet spot by Trey's feet. She looked up and found the source to be the few tears that had managed to fall from his eyes. She was only joking about the crybaby thing, yet here he was _'Man he's more of a wuss than I thought!'_

"Surprised to see me like this hot head?! Well don't be…I may be a ghost…but I'm still human, unlike you! But do you know what makes this so hard, do you?!?!?!?!?!?!" Ember couldn't answer, her brain was fighting itself whether to speak her mind, or keep quiet lest she get socked in the stomach again. Trey soon spoke up after 10 seconds "You're right." Ember's thoughts had been completely derailed after that. True she had a good idea of what he was like before, but it was only an opinion to her, she figured he wouldn't care too much about it.

"My childhood was a complete hell…all because of something I felt that I couldn't control." Danny knew what was coming, he had this talk with Trey years ago. It was then he learned why he liked him so much to begin with. "I had…habits…of sorts that were constantly met to disapproving eyes. Day after day I was met with line after line of taunts and teases. It gave me a bleak outlook towards people my age." Ember, having gotten to her feet finally had a question to ask "So this was the thing that was on a need to know basis?" Trey's glare was all the answer she needed and she continued "Why didn't you just…"

"Let it go? How could I do something like that when I was only 5 YEARS OLD?!?!?!? Do you have any idea how impressionable a person's memory is at that age?! I'd assume not which is why we're having this conversation! This went on for over five years and it followed me to middle school. I treated everyone of my classmates like crud and guess where it got me, nowhere! I nearly got into fights because of the way I acted towards them which is why I back out of them. I don't want to fight anyone unless I'm provoked enough. It took one of the sparse friends I did make to realize what I was doing wrong and I was lucky that everyone slowly forgave me. My life got better all the way through high school, and through college. Then…I get stuck with you!"

"Hey it's not my fault you were such a bum so don't blame your insecurities on me!"

"You…I can't believe I'm still arguing with you about this. It's obvious that you don't care and you never will!"

"Finally you understand, now maybe you'll grow a brain and leave me alone!!!" By now, Trey had stopped crying, now he was just plain furious. He turned around to leave for the third time but before he left, he turned his head to face Ember one more time "You know even after all of this there is one thing I keep asking myself."

"Oh really, what is it exactly?"

"How could your family even tolerate you for one second?!" Ember was confused, why did he bring that up? There was no way that she was ever…wait…was she? "What do you mean dipstick?"

"Listen to yourself hot head, did you think that for even one second I would believe your…scratch that, **any** family would take care of some self centered, pompous bitch like you?!" Ember felt frozen at his dark tone. The words Trey chose to use began to stir something inside her, something she thought was under control. "That's bogus, y-you don't know what you're talking about!"

"Really, _prove me wrong then!_ When was the last time you looked out for anyone beside yourself? Name me one time and I will take back everything I've said." Ember frantically searched for an answer that would get her out of the hole that she had suddenly found herself in. Again, that familiar feeling stirred up inside her and it was stronger this time. She was barely able to keep it back she was so flustered. She could also recall one time where she was in this exact position, but where and why now of all times? But, she found herself unable to answer his demand.

"I thought as much, you criticize me for the life I've led when you fail to see what you've done with yours, which I can assume wasn't much considering how you ended up so don't lecture me about being pathetic because I've done something about it!" Trey then walked over to the edge of the stage and jumped off. As he straightened his body out form the recoil, what Ember said next shocked even Danny "Why can't you understand…daddy why?"

"……W-what did you call me?" Trey looked back up at the troublesome girl who wasn't looking so troublesome now. In fact, the way she looked, she looked as though she was about to breakdown any second. It was at that point the significance of what she said hit her dead on and all she did was stare into Trey's dumbfounded eyes. After 5 seconds Trey sighed "I can see this has turned out to be a waste of time." Trey finally walked off, hands in his pockets. Danny and the other girls were speechless, what had just taken place?!

Nevertheless, Sam jumped off to see if she could stop Trey before he got too far. Valerie looked back and forth between the two arguing ghosts and said "Well it seems that this problem has to be settled with them" and she flew off heading home. The only ones left on the deserted stage were Ember and Danny. Noticing the way her eyes and mouth lingered open like that he knew he wouldn't have to bring her in. Trey had done the job for him already. "You know something Ember…I know Trey, and he's right when he says he prefers not to fight. But, it's clear that you've done something to upset him like that. I've never seen him so sad and angry before at anyone, EVER! He really trusted you and you didn't respect that, and now look where you are."

Danny ended his speech there and flew off in Sam's direction thinking he'd have a better chance of catching Trey. Ember was left alone and the only thing she had were the words exchanged throughout the entire argument, namely the ones that Trey had parted with. The way he said it, the tone he used…it was like she said. It sounded like her father, angry, upset, and uncaring all at once. Just like years ago… "No……t-this isn't true…it can't be true…h-he's crazy, he doesn't know a clue about who I am!"

'_And you don't have a clue about him Ember.'_ Ember gasped in surprise, who said that? She looked around but found no one. She got off the stage and started flying back towards the nearest ghost portal she could find. _'You were always blaming others when it was your fault in the first place.'_ There it was again, that same voice, but where was it coming from?! She frantically decided to use the Fenton Portal which was close by and she quickly made her way back into the ghost zone and flew as fast as her body could take her. She had no clue where she was going but she didn't care as long as this voice would leave her alone. _'Are you trying to run away Ember because it's a waste of time! You cannot get away from me!'_

"Oh yeah, I can damn sure try!" Ember increased her speed so much she started whizzing by buildings and ghosts like lightning. However, 5 minutes later her energy ran low and she made a free fall towards the ground and landed with a crash. _'You really are a fool, yet still you try and deny it.'_

"Because it's not true, I know it isn't!"

'_Oh really, well take a look at yourself woman.'_ Ember reluctantly obeyed and tried to stand, but struggled to her feet. She wasted a lot of her power flying through the ghost zone like that, and the landing had left her scuffed and scraped as well. There was this awful sensation covering her entire body, a sensation that brought her to her knees. It was pain, pure unaltered pain. _'Does it hurt Ember, you evil whore? From now on you shall live like this…on your knees with weakness…like how you left us years ago!'_ Ember's head rose and her gut formed a giant pit. She started trembling as she whispered "N-no……not y-you…"

* * *

Danny and Sam had finally made it back to Fenton Works after an unsuccessful chase through the city. Both were extremely tired form the day's events and had decided to stop their search and try again at a later date. Along the way, Sam explained how she noticed Trey roaming the house the suddenly go outside. Push went to shove and they eventually met at his fight with Ember and needless to say Danny had much to think about. 

Danny POV

Why didn't I see this coming, do I need to pay more attention?! I should've figured there was a chance Trey would end up in the ghost zone but knowing the things that come out of it I guess I expected it wouldn't be the proper place for him to go. Still, I can't figure out for the life of me how he managed to run into Ember let alone anyone in the ghost zone at all. All I can assume now is that the both of them came here together. That's what I don't understand, why would Trey associate himself with someone like Ember. Well…I guess I won't know unless I get it form the source…too bad we couldn't find Trey anywhere, and Sam and I are beat. Maybe we'll be better off if we stay out of whatever's riled him up.

Narrator POV

Danny went upstairs to his room so he could rest his weary body. He opened the door a plopped down face first onto the soft and inviting mattress. He flipped himself over and just gazed at the ceiling for a good 10 minutes. He then got the idea to relax himself with some music so he reached under his bed and pulled out a guitar case. It was one of the many things he and Trey did together. Trey taught him the basics of playing while Danny learned more advanced things on his own.

Danny opened the locks and lifted the lid open, but the case was empty. Slapping his face, his breath turned cold and blue signaling another ghost was present. He transformed and moved up to the roof of the Ops Center. It didn't take long for him to find the ghost seeing as how it was playing on his guitar. Danny moved closer and soon recognized the clothes it was wearing. However, before he could get a word out, Trey had already started singing.

_I don't want to see you waiting  
I've already gone too far away  
I still can't keep the day from ending  
No more messed up reasons for me to stay_

_Well this is not for real  
Afraid to feel  
I just hit the floor  
Don't ask for more  
I'm wasting my time  
I'm wasting my time  
You can't stop the feeling  
There is no reason  
Let's make the call  
And take it all again  
Whoa again_

_Months went by with us pretending  
When did our light turn from green to red  
I took a chance and left you standing  
Lost the will to do this once again_

_Well this is not for real  
Afraid to feel  
I just hit the floor  
Don't ask for more  
I'm wasting my time  
I'm wasting my time  
Can't you drop the feeling  
There is no reason  
Let's make the call  
And take it all  
I'm wasting my time  
I'm wasting my time again  
Whoa again_

_I see you waiting  
Lonesome, lonely  
I see you waiting  
I see you waiting_

_Well this is not for real  
Afraid to feel  
I just hit the floor  
Don't ask for more  
I'm wasting my time  
I'm wasting my ...  
Well this is not for real  
Afraid to feel  
I just hit the floor  
Don't ask for more  
I'm wasting my time  
I'm wasting my time  
You can't stop the feeling  
There is no reason  
Let's make the call  
And take it all again  
Whoa again_

Danny just looked on in awe. He had hardly seen Trey do this before in his whole life. The only time Trey pulled out a song nowadays is when he was trying to calm his mind from a restless state. He at least knew that now Trey's judgment was clear again so maybe it wouldn't be so hard to coax him into talking. "Danny…you mind if I ask you something?"

'_Well that was easy'_ "What were you thinking?"

"What just happened back there?" Danny was amazed and confused at the same time. Sure he witnessed the entire conversation but he figured Trey would at least stand by what he said, but no. He actually sounded like he regretted something. Yet, Danny still felt this whole ghost thing was still new for him so he tried to play the unknown game. "I'm sorry but I'm not sure what you're asking."

"Danny I know you were there, you heard it all. But maybe I should start calling you Phantom."

'_Okay so this isn't as new for him as I thought'_ "Fine Trey you got me there…but still you mind telling me how you got there in the first place?" Trey sighed, he knew this would come sooner or later so why not sooner. But, he knew he may do something drastic if Danny knew about his connections to Vlad aside from his initial death. "Well…soon after I crashed I ended up in the ghost zone. I woke up in a strange bedroom which I later found out belonged to Ember…"

Trey continued with his modified story through the point where Ember allowed him to stay the night at her place. He also conveniently left out the part where he became a lab rat for Vlad's purposes, and the ensuing episodes that followed. He feared it would only put Danny into unnecessary trouble, but what he actually said was enough. "Okay, now I understand how you met…but I can tell that there's something about that argument that you don't like"

"Is it that obvious?"

"You were singing Trey how was it not?"

"I guess so…you saw the way she reacted when I mentioned her family didn't you?" Danny was puzzled by his question. He hadn't bothered to pay much attention to the actual emotions that either were feeling, heck he thought most ghosts didn't have any which was why they were so ruthless, especially Walker. But nevertheless, Trey had an answer. "Up to that point I knew Ember to be some self centered brat who didn't know when to shut her mouth. At that point everything changed about her, I didn't even recognize her for a while…what do you think it means?"

"Well…my guess is that Ember was human once, like you. She too had a family of her own. The only thing that makes sense is that she hated her family…or her family hated her." Trey then remembered the point where Ember called him daddy and drew a very precise conclusion "More accurately her father…remember when she called me daddy?"

"Yeah, it passed by so quick that I didn't give much heed to it"

"It must have brought back some bad memories for her which is why she looked so upset back there……it all makes sense now"

"What do you mean?" Danny inquired, curious as to what he was thinking

"Try and follow this…Ember had a family, but something about her father in particular raised bad memories in her mind. It's obvious that her behavior is linked to her father in some way but that's where I'm stuck…he could've abused her…he could've been a criminal…"

"Or he tried to control Ember's life…she's the embodiment of teenage rebellion so if you ask me, your fight made her remember…"

"…A fight she had with her father…it makes perfect sense when you think about it…thanks cuz."

"No problem Trey…where are you going?" Danny had noticed Trey had pushed himself to his feet and started making his way back down to ground level. Also, he seemed to be in a hurry at the rate he was moving. "Back into the ghost zone…by the way this is yours" and he handed Danny his guitar and phased down to the basement. He noticed the open portal in front of him meaning Ember must have used it to get back home. Danny soon appeared at his side with one thing on his mind "Are you really going after her, why?"

"Why not Danny, can't you see, Ember is upset because of me and…call me crazy but I feel I have to do something."

"Even after all she said to you, you'd still go in their and _apologize_ to her?!"

"Who else would?"

"…You've got a point there, but are you sure you know what to do?"

"No…which is why I'm going to have her tell me one way or another." With those parting words, he vanished among the bright emerald light of the ghost portal.

* * *

**A/N:**** Finally through...this is much better as two chapters. This and chapter 6 used to be one segment...a 10,000 word segment. True there have been oneshots that have been that long but this is no oneshot. Moving on, Ember's past will be revealed. Will it change her for the better or will she become even worse? Find out in chapter 8: It's Never Too Late**


	8. A Second Chance

**A/N:**** IT'S FINALLY READY!!!!! Man I had a hard time with this chapter what with all the drama that took place inside and outside of the story. Plus, I'm back at college so that's been eating up my time too, but I was lucky to have a good non-stop moment that kept me up to 4 AM this morning. Where were we again? Ah yes, If you have not read anything before this **_you will be confused_**. Go back and read the other chapters first. Ember and Trey just got out of their argument and went their separate ways, for now... **

* * *

_**Ch 8: A Second Chance**_

"N-no……not y-you…" Ember thought she was hearing things, she had to be. There was no possible way he could be here. But as her blurry eyes came back into focus all she saw was a towering figure glaring down at her. His mud colored eyes complimented his dark, short hair but the rest of him remained cloaked in shadows. "_You cannot deny me little girl, no matter how hard you try. I am your father and that will never change…and neither will you!_"

"W-what do you know?! You never gave me…"

"_You didn't deserve it then, nor will you ever deserve it at all!_"

"Stop it…please…go away…" over and over again Ember begged for his presence to fade away. How could it have come to this? She thought this problem was over and done with years ago when she died. Why was it still haunting her now? She gathered enough strength to get back on her feet and make another brake for it. She didn't want to know where as long as she got away form him. Looking back, the figure had vanished from its spot. Ember didn't have to wonder where it went for long because she ran straight into it again. This time any other attempts were thwarted when she was suddenly bound by skeletal hands. "_Running away again, typical I suppose it's all you've ever done._"

"N-no…you're wrong…"

"_Am I now, I think not! Look at what you've done, all the hearts you've broken and for what? Your own self pleasure!!! You really are a whore!_"

"No I'm not like that!"

"_Really now? Then see the damage you've done for yourself!"_ A bright light soon filled the whole area and when it faded, Ember found herself in a vast, open field. The sky above was a shimmering blue with barely a cloud in the sky. The grass swayed in the breeze that blew past her face. It was quite a change of location when compared to the ghost zone. Ember looked around to notice that her father had disappeared again, but rather than risk him coming back she took off again to find a place where she could hide until this whole ordeal was behind her. But, she stopped for a moment when she saw three more figures down the hill from where she was standing. Needing a closer look she scaled down the sloping bank to see who these strangers really were. By the time they were an earshot away she stopped again. The people standing before her were three women standing in a triangular shape.

One was a long haired red head with a plain colored summer dress. It too moved with the wind along with the landscape. The other two had the same dark hair as her father only it was longer as it reached to the tops of their shoulders. Their shirts were the same plain shade as the other woman's dress and the jeans they wore were only slightly faded. Ember was finding it hard to move towards them because they too were people she hadn't seen in years. She crept slowly towards the red haired woman to make sure what she was seeing was the real deal and not some cheap trick. She extended a shaky hand out towards this someone, whom she apparently recognized by name "…Mom…?"

The woman lifted her heard and turned to face Ember. Green eyes met with baby blues and Ember immediately knew it was her. Afterward the two other women turned to face her and Ember suddenly felt her ghostly body lighten up "…Sis…?" The three women began to smile at their long lost friend which raised Ember's spirit more. She couldn't believe what she was seeing but here they were her mother…and her older, twin sisters.

Seeing their faces once more awoke other memories and soon a fourth entered the picture. It was a little girl, with hair just as fiery as her mother's along with the same outfit, albeit a smaller size. Her dark green eyes blended with the grass she was scampering over. Pretty soon, one of the sister's moved to pick her up and Ember finally got a good look at the child; it was her when she was eight years old! The quartet of females proceeded to laugh as they played with the young one.

A few seconds later, little Ember ran off into the horizon as if she was playing a game of chase, but something was amiss. If they were going to chase her, why was her mother and sisters not moving to catch up with her? Ember soon found out why as the park began to vanish in darkness. When it reached her feet, she was surprised to find herself unharmed, but the same could not be said for the others. She watched in horror as her mother and sisters became engulfed by the shadows until there was nothing left of them.

"NO!" was all she shouted as she tried to save them, but to no avail. Once again the ominous statue of her father had reappeared where the girls had been standing. Ember fell back but could not find the strength to move again. "_Now do you comprehend the crimes you have commited? Your selfish needs sent them beyond the breaking point. They no longer care what becomes of the selfish little bitch you've become!"_

"What…no t-this isn't real…this can't be happening!" Ember's whole body was starting to shake as painful visions came crawling into her. Three familiar faces came into view and began to circle around her. "_How could you do such things…after all I did to take care of you?"_

"_I never thought you'd end up like this"_

"_You deserted us…so now we've deserted you. You're no sister of mine!"_

"No…please listen…"

"_Dad was right…you are nothing but a power hungry whore"_

"You don't understand…"

"_We don't fucking care about you, just like you don't care about us!"_

"NO PLEASE…" Ember was starting to panic. No matter how hard she pleaded it wouldn't stop. It kept getting worse, it kept getting louder, and it became harder to block out. Soon she was back on her knees with her arms over her head screaming "SHUT UP, SHUT UP……LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!"

"_My dear daughter can't you see, you've been alone for years and it shall forever remain that way. Your evil ways have sealed your fate. Your time will come you shit and we will finally be rid of you when you BURN IN HELL!!!"_ Ember couldn't take it anymore. Her father's words had driven her to the point where she had lost any hope of control. She stood on her knees and in one single breath drove her lungs to their limit as she shrieked out

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!" She continued to hold her voice at that high pitch unaware of the massive amount of energy she was simultaneously releasing from her body. She lingered until her lungs finally gave into the pressure sustained on them. From that moment, she could no longer breathe and in seconds, she passed out.

* * *

In a distant area of the ghost zone, something is taking place in the normally quiet street. Then again, all the streets were quiet because everyone usually kept to themselves. Nevertheless, a strange ruckus was breaking the tranquil, but eerie calm of the neighborhood. Things were falling, breaking, shattering, any form of destruction could be potentially named. But, no sooner did the noise pick up than it stopped without warning. After which, a group of ghosts emerged from the now "searched" through building. The last one marched outside and regrouped the others. "We can find no trace of the boy anywhere in there sir, nor is he registering anywhere in the ghost zone."

"Then we only have one place left to look. Bullet, get any stunning weapons we've got back at base."

"Stun…but why?"

"The kids a monster Bullet, if he gets agitated too much hell go berserk and before we know it the entire ghost zone will be laid flat. Now here's the plan, we'll…" Walker's orders were cut short when one of the tracking devices started going haywire. He removed the device from his cop's person to notice a high level ecto signal about 5 miles southeast of their current position. Seconds later they all heard a loud, shrieking noise accompanied by a show of sonic waves harmlessly traveling into the emerald sky above.

Mere moments later, the signal was gone. Walker calculated the facts while his men were still awestruck at the powerful sight. "Men, change in plans, head for the source of that sound and we'll know who caused it." Snapped out of his revere one of the cops was confused at the sudden change of mind "B-but sir, if the boy is not in the ghost zone, who could've possibly made that attack?"

"Someone who we can use to find him, I only know of one ghost who can use that attack, but he's still back in the real world which means there's only one ghost left…a ghost who can put power behind his, or should I say _her_ voice." The phantasms regrouped and flew towards their new target. As soon as one of them was able to spot anything they landed and right in front of them was the limp, and unconscious, Ember. Walked got on one knee and rolled her onto her back to get a closer look. "I knew it had to be you punk. Only the ghost boy can use the Ghostly Wail but he's still cowering back among the humans. However, it's left you on empty considering it was your first attempt. Walker moved his fingers over her cheek and stopped when he saw something twinkle in the corner of her eye. He moved the pad of his forefinger under it and brought up close to his face.

The tiny object looked to be a normal drop of water. Bringing it closer he sniffed it twice before flicking it to the ghostly winds. "Now things are finally coming together."

"Her face is unusually warm sir…doesn't that happen when…"

"Yes Bullet…the lady was upset about something and when she screamed she released her power through the Ghostly Wail. But, this only spawns more questions, why was she upset in the first place and what, or who, caused this mess."

"What should we do with the girl sir?"

"Bring her back to the prison; I'm going to investigate this matter personally. I'll question her when I get back." Walker turned around and started his ascent. He was ready to fly off when he became the object of a rock's affection, hitting him right between the eyes. Rubbing the tender spot, his assailant called up to him. "You're not going anywhere Walker so allow me to cut your investigation short!" The angry sheriff bore his eyes downward until it fell upon a newcomer to his group. By some stroke of luck Trey had managed to locate them, but it was no doubt because he had heard Ember's scream as well. Rather than get angrier, he smirked and landed a foot or so in front of the young specter. "You know, ever since hearing about you surviving here on your own for so long I'll admit you had guts. But there's a fine line between guts and intelligence. Only a fool would dare show himself before me with such a rep."

"Everyone in the ghost zone has a rep to you Walker. But, I didn't come her to make idle chit chat with your ilk. Let me and Ember go and I'll allow you to go about your business, _unharmed_!" The area was completely silent. Walker and crew were abashed at such a remark. However it soon resulted in the roaring laughter from the sheriff. "Kid, I have no clue what hat you pulled that one out of but if you seriously intend to survive like that then you've got another thing coming" Walker boasted as he slammed his fist into his palm. Trey just rolled his eyes and answered "Don't tell me things I already know Walker. Something like that could tick me off, and you know what happens after that!"

"What's in your head kid, you have no clue about any of us!"

"Oh but I do Walker, the hot head told me quite a bit." Walker was slightly stunned, though he did have an answer to one of his earlier questions. Trey was the one responsible for Ember being in her current condition, but it was still a mystery as to why. Before he could get a word out Trey angrily stated "Don't speak again jackass or it will be the last thing you do!" This time, Trey was correct as Walker could hear various sensors going off from his men. Hearing the beeps and such, Trey relaxed his body and took a deep breath and the scanners stopped beeping. "You want to know what I think Walker, I think that most ghosts have forgotten their time among the living which is why they're so ready to screw with them now. They only bother to think about anything bad that's happened to them and that only makes things worse."

"Yeah right, get down off your soapbox kid. We've all been had. The only one you can truly depend on is yourself!"

"Ember said something like that you know what I said back?" Walker stood ready to attack should the need/opportunity present itself which Trey only sighed at. "I'm not like the lot of you. One who's out for vengeance for something completely bogus is not my style. Despite anything that's happened to me it doesn't change the fact that I'm only human."

"Nice try punk, but you're a ghost now, so get used to it!"

"Who said anything about being alive to be human? Heck, I'm all the proof you need to back that up. But you don't care so I guess any future discussion isn't necessary so give me Ember and we'll be on our way." As expected Walker was not about to let a convict in his grasp get away so easily, he threw his hand straight at Trey's face, but he ducked below and did a sweep kick to knock him off his feet. Once Walker was on his back, Trey took the slim chance to leap over him and make a beeline for Ember. When he got next to her he shifted her body some and made ready to carry her away. But his plan was to fail when one of the officers shot a capture net. The ropes instantly tangled around his limbs as he tried to escape, but not even going intangible worked, Walker came prepared.

With Trey still squirming, Walker crouched down to meet him face to face. "I told you kid, create problems with me and you won't last very long. I've got enough dirt to punish you for the rest of your afterlife…if you're lucky, bring him in men!" Two cops saluted and floated over to the captor while Walker slung Ember over his shoulder. Trey continued to fidget even in the grasp of Walker's men. If anything, being stubborn as a mule can be helpful in this situation and that's exactly what he was doing.

One of the cops, in an effort to keep him still, sent his fist right into Trey's face. His movement turned into ragged breathing as his body went loose. "Maybe that will teach you that resistance is futile boy!" Trey didn't give an answer outside of unsteady breaths. Seconds later, the cops could feel his muscles contract in their hands, but they loosened again just as quickly. Soon, he began to thrash about again but this time it was more difficult to keep him in place.

Annoyed, Walked turned back to the boy in hopes to get him quiet, but he froze about a foot away form his body when an ominous, crimson aura surrounded him. Walker, now shocked, turned to his men. "What did you do to him?!"

"He wouldn't stop moving sir we had to do something!"

"You fool you've practically doomed the entire ghost zone!!!" The red light started to shoot from Trey signaling he would soon transform again. The group could only watch as he writhed in agony as the beastly power ran through his ethereal form. He was soon too much for the cops to control and he was dropped back to the ground where he continued to roll around. Everyone stepped back a bit as he got on his hands and knees. Surprisingly, they were able to catch a word or two before it happened

"…n-nn-no……not…ag-gain…n-not again…not…AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN!!!!!" The aura surrounding Trey seemed to explode into the surrounding area blasting anything in its way. Red light shot into the corrupted sky like a geyser waiting to erupt. Such light was visible even to those far from them but anyone ghost who saw it gave it no attention. 10 seconds later, the light faded away slowly. The ground had been completely charred and smoke was billowing high into the sky. When it finally cleared enough for things to be visible, the only thing standing inside the smoldering circle……was Trey, _in human form_. He was still on his knees but his breathing had become steady.

Trey looked at his surroundings and noticed the blackened surface beneath him. Still refusing to acknowledge what had happened he held up his trembling hands and touched his face. Though he couldn't believe it happened, he had managed to stop transforming. His mind became aware of other things as he saw Ember a few meters outside the circle. Trey sighed in relief to find she wasn't hurt by his near relapse. Slowly, he got to his feet and walked over to her. Forgetting about everything else, he lifted Ember onto his back and proceeded to make the long trip back to the one place he was sure Walker would not look.

* * *

_Darkness…empty space…that was all that could be discerned. Yet, amongst it all, there was an odd, but familiar feeling of comfort like when you lay yourself on your bed for a good night's sleep if you can get one. However, the feeling was soon overtaken by something much worse. It can weigh down even the strongest of men at times and some do not recover so easily, pain. The only thing that could be heard amongst it was a quiet voice. A form began to take shape until there stood a purple cloaked man, with a scar over one eye, and he was constantly changing from a kid to a senior to a normal adult. "Relax, you've been through a lot just now."_

"_W-where…am I?"_

"_That's not important but realize this, you've been given a second chance my friend and it would be in your best interest to take it."_

"_What happened to me?"_

"_The both of you will be fine, your companion can explain everything when you wake up."_

"_I'm…dreaming?"_

"_Indeed…my time is short. Know this; your fates have now become entwined. One will no longer survive without the other. But for now, everything is as it should be" with those final words the man snapped his fingers._

* * *

Despite her pounding head, Ember shot herself up into a seated position. She gave the room a quick glance back and forth and found out she was back home in her room. She flopped back down to help herself take in what had just happened. Who was that strange man? What did he mean when he said their fates are now entwined? Who is this companion he referred to?

It all came flooding back to her in a flash. She had come back from the real world after her little spat with Trey after which she lost herself in old memories. Things were blurry after that but she couldn't think on it because she heard a knock on her door. She slowly walked downstairs giving her head a chance to stop spinning. By the time she opened the door she was tackled into a hug and she fell back. "Ow…Kitty what are you doing here?"

"Well when I got here earlier you weren't there and with Walker having trashed the place I could see why and…oops…" Kitty soon realized from Ember's horrified look that she had not been told of what had happened. She ran back into her house and into the main living room, but was puzzled to see everything intact and in a proper place though she could tell things had been moved. Kitty came inside and stood next to her "Well we did manage to clean up the place before you got back."

Ember put a gloved finger on her lips to silence her. Kitty looked back at the woman hoping she hadn't said something wrong. After the whole Girls Night Out incident a few years back the two of them never tried to fix the temporary bond they forged as the ladies of the ghost zone so Kitty decided to give it another go, but she wasn't getting anywhere fast with Ember keeping her quiet.

"A few things Kitten one: who's we, 2: why did Walker trash my house, and 3: what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Well it all happened after you fell unconscious, Walker tried to…well…"

"Spit it out dammit!!!"

"I don't think it's my place to say, he didn't tell me much anyway." Ember was getting annoyed and fast. Her questions had not been answered and Kitty was now making less sense than she was seconds ago. Her face contorted in frustration which said to Kitty either start talking or I'll burn you so badly there won't be ashes left. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, you want to maim someone then do it to him." Kitty pointed up to her roof and Ember let her go.

She stormed back to the door while Kitty left for parts unknown. She phased through the floors and up to the roof, not before noticing a missing guitar from her room. Add that to the list of complaints. She finally made her way up and no one knows why she didn't strangle the guy then and there. By the edge, in the exact same spot, and the exact same position, albeit her guitar in hand, was Trey. At that point she had a lot of questions in line to ask him, but not before he was beaten within an inch of his afterlife. She cracked her knuckles and made ready to strike when docile notes started echoing to her ears.

_Hey there Delilah  
What's it like in New York City?  
I'm a thousand miles away  
But girl tonight you look so pretty  
Yes you do  
Times Square can't shine as bright as you  
I swear it's true_

_Hey there Delilah  
Don't you worry about the distance  
I'm right there if you get lonely  
Give this song another listen  
Close your eyes  
Listen to my voice it's my disguise  
I'm by your side  
_

Ember unwillingly relaxed her body as he sang. Though confused as she was as to why he was doing this out in the open her mind turned to specific points in the lyrics. I'm there if you get lonely…I'm by your side…it almost seemed as if the song itself was speaking to her. She remained still as the words continued…

_Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me_

_Hey there Delilah  
I know times are getting hard  
But just believe me girl  
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar  
We'll have it good  
We'll have the life we knew we would  
My word is good_

_Hey there Delilah  
I've got so much left to say  
If every simple song I wrote to you  
Would take your breath away  
I'd write it all  
Even more in love with me you'd fall  
We'd have it all  
_

Ember felt herself sink at those words. Once again, more memories had been unburied. The first half reflected the idea of trusting in another and your life will be good. She had lost count of the times that such a thought was only an empty promise. Yet, her curiosity kept her moving forward. What could he possibly mean by 'love'? Certainly she wasn't the subject of this, or was she?

_Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me_

_A thousand miles seems pretty far  
But they've got planes and trains and cars  
I'd walk to you if I had no other way  
Our friends would all make fun of us  
and we'll just laugh along because we know  
That none of them have felt this way  
Delilah I can promise you  
That by the time we get through  
The world will never ever be the same  
And you're to blame_

_Hey there Delilah  
You be good and don't you miss me  
Two more years and you'll be done with school  
And I'll be making history like I do  
You know it's all because of you  
We can do whatever we want to  
Hey there Delilah here's to you  
This ones for you  
_

Each note in the final verse seemed to lift a weight off of her. Those words went directly to something she thought she no longer had, her heart. She could've sworn she felt it pulse with life for the shortest of moments. She drew on her past for a third time and she suddenly found herself presented with a 'what if' moment. She saw herself back in the arms of the three people who she once held close and she wondered……what if she didn't do what had been done? Would she have even been here at all? She finally realized that among her family, she did not include her father and in that moment of time…everything clicked. It was then she finally began to understand why Trey was…well, Trey. She was absolutely aghast when Trey went into the final chorus

_Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
Oh it's what you do to me  
What you do to me…_

After he finished, Trey rested his forearms on the instrument in his lap. Ember, for the time being was still in a state of shock. She didn't know whether to go with her initial plan and smack him anyway or hug him for giving one of the best performances she had ever heard. "So are you just going to stand there and gawk at me all day?"

Ember was snapped out of her trance when she noticed him turn his head to look at her. He walked up to her with a slightly embarrassed look. He handed her the guitar and she took it back. She continued to stare at him blankly even as he phased right through her and back inside. Finally gaining her composure, she ran back into her room and put the guitar back on its stand.

She then went back down to the ground floor to find Trey who had taken a seat back on her sofa. She went from confused to amazed…then back to angry in the span of three seconds. She stormed into the room, grabbed his arm and flew back into her room with Trey in tow. They became solid again and Ember made one short, but resolute command "Sit down."

"Honestly, I don't think I should…"

"SIT!!!" Trey unconsciously plopped onto the floor on his buttocks, the picture of 'what just happened' on his face. Ember rolled her eyes and added "On…the…bed!" Trey looked at her funny but obliged none the less. Ember began to pace the floor in front of him trying to ask one of the many questions she had for him, but for some reason could not get the words out of her mouth.

She made her way over to one of the windows and leaned on the windowsill. With her back turned, Trey knew he was in deep no matter how he thought through it. Swallowing the lump in his throat he broke the silence. "Look…there was no telling what Walker would've done had I left you there what else was I supposed to do?" Ember either didn't acknowledge that he said anything or if she heard him at all.

"I was his intended target…he was probably going to use you to get to me because you're the only one whose had enough contact with me for it to count." Once again, she didn't respond. Trey didn't like dragging things out unless progress was being made so he sighed and said "Ember, unless you say something there's no point in me being here." As expected, he was finally able to coax an answer from her. "Did you really mean what you said?" Trey cocked an eyebrow at her question. She was of course referring to their…spat back out in the real world, but he had said a lot back there. "I don't think I follow you."

"Back out there……you told me that I…I was right, did you mean that?" He had not expected that. Trey fully expected to get an earful from her, but so far he was the one that had done the most talking but in order for him to get to his point he needed her to participate too. "Yes…I did…it's not something I'm proud of though. But I see myself now as someone better than that, someone who has learned from his mistakes." Ember cringed slightly at the subtle anger in his voice. She knew full well that she was the target meaning she had to cut to the chase before another argument ensued. "Why did you come back for me?" The ball had been thrown back into Trey's hands, but he also took this to his advantage to steer the conversation where he wanted. "I told you already, it's human nature too…"

"Bullshit, I don't want to hear any of this 'human nature' crap now give a straight answer."

"It should be obvious, someone had to do something."

"You're already on the edge of my patience dipstick now TALK!!!" Trey hid his smirk well and threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine, but you have to answer this first…" Ember rolled her eyes, it showed that the majority of her didn't want to be here, but the minority wouldn't budge "…why did you call me daddy?" Ember knew that the tables had been turned upon her once again. She scavenged her brain for possible methods to put things back in her favor but she came up with nothing he couldn't rebut. "What the…that's stupid."

"You want me to answer your question then answer mine."

"Why do you even care?!"

"Why do you not care?!"

"You have a bad habit of prying into people's personal lives you know that?!"

"For the love of Pete, it's just a question, a simple question why out of all people did you call me daddy?! What was so significant about him that he stands out so much to you?!"

BECAUSE HE'S THE REASON I'M EVEN IN THE GHOST ZONE AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!" Trey fell silent while Ember was fuming out the ears now hoping he would've shut up sooner. Trey looked stunned as Ember started to fight her tear ducts. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"I mean it's all his fault that I'm here……if he just listened to me……" Ember turned back to the window. She wished that he would stop this chat now because she felt she had already revealed too much. Ember then felt his hand on her shoulder and responded in an unexpected way. She put her hand on top of his and held it firmly. Suddenly, she felt as if more pressure had been lifted off of her. There was something about Trey that made her continue. "You were right too; I did have a…family. I was the youngest of 3 daughters, the other two being twins." She let go and took a seat on her bed. Trey followed suit and sat next to her though she refused to look him in the eye.

"For years it was just the 5 of us. We weren't that well off but we didn't care. My mother stayed at home to look after me and my sisters while my father……" Ember paused. Trey knew she had gotten to a choke point so he just gave her a little encouragement "Go on…"

"…My father was dreamer. He always said to me that one day he would hit it big in the music industry and we'd never live poor again. He often left home and never came back for days on end. I gave no thought about it until I started hearing them fight…"

"Your parents had fights in front of you?"

"No I only heard them. One day I asked my mom about it but she just said I shouldn't worry. The next thing I know……my father disappeared." Trey's mouth was slightly agape. He just wanted a simple answer, but instead he felt like he was getting her life story, not to mention that it didn't fit his theory of him controlling her life. He just soaked it all in like a dry sponge with water. "I knew she was upset, but mom told us that he had abandoned us…left us for the life of a rock star. I didn't believe her, back then I still loved him and before you know it I was suddenly clashing with what family I had left. I told them they didn't understand how daddy felt but they didn't listen……so I ran away from home when I was only 12."

Trey didn't try to stop her. In his mind he was creating his own mental picture of her story with all the twists and turns. His good English skill helped him to decipher that Ember was fast coming upon the climax of her story. "I didn't see him again till two years later when I saw him walking down the street so I followed him into the nearest coffee shop…"

* * *

_Ember was running down the sidewalk to catch up with the man she'd been trailing for a few blocks. The man's name was Joe, her father who had up and left his wife and daughters two years prior. The girl followed right into a shabby looking apartment building and up three flights of stairs. She was catching her breath when he saw him open a door in the hallway and she sped quickly to catch it before it closed. She was able to catch it with her foot before it did. Joe heard the noise and came back to the door. Upon seeing the young girl at the door his face opened up and he said "Oh well don't just stand out there, come in."_

_Ember was confused beyond reason, had he been expecting her all this time? She obliged and went inside. The apartment looked a little worn, but was in good condition. Aside from a separate bedroom, everything was crammed into one tiny package. She heard him shuffle around the other room for a few seconds before emerging in a cotton bathrobe. "Uh……why are you wearing that?"_

"_It helps me set the mood" Joe said as he closed the curtains to his only window. He went back into the bedroom for something which gave Ember the time to look around. On the small table, she almost got sick from what she saw. There were various pod-shaped items along with a tube of KY Jelly. Having learned of this from the street, Ember was scared of what might happen to her. Joe came back this time with a pair of handcuffs in his hand. "So pretty lady…where shall we begin?" Ember just gawked at him like an idiot. Was he really intending to go forward with this on his own daughter?! She was not about to let that sort of thing happen. "My god…daddy what do you think your doing?!"_

"_I thought girls like you make a living off this now are we gonna get busy or what?"_

"_No way, dad don't you recognize me?!" The word dad struck a chord in his system. He got so close to her face it should've been illegal and it was then that his phone ordered woman walked through the door. Realizing what he almost did he turned back to his youngest daughter, as angry as a stubborn mule. "Get out…"_

"_But dad I…"_

"_OUT!!!" Ember tried to reason with him, but nothing she said convinced him other wise. As a last ditch effort she kept his door open and made to shout one last plea, but her cries became moot when he shouted back "Get the hell out of my life!!! You and your mother!!! I've had it with you bitches holding me back, now stay with the trash where you belong!!!" The door was then slammed shut and locked._

* * *

Trey was completely dumbfounded by what he had just heard. Of all the things he heard on the news and TV shows, he never expected them to be real. "I…I had nowhere to go…father had denied us…and my mother would never take me back after what I did……I had become nobody. I died two months later in a drive by shooting and that was the end of it. No one knew about it…those who did didn't care……I just…n-never got…t-to…" Trey knew something was wrong when he saw Ember shaking like a leaf. He leaned forward to get a better look, but Ember still didn't make eye contact. "Hey…you okay Ember?" She knew her grip was slipping so she tried harder and harder to hold it all back like she had done many times before. "I'm fine…"

"Are you sure, you look a little upset."

"I said I'm fine!" This was beyond a lie as Trey put his hand on her shoulder again only to have it shoved off. Try as he might Ember continued to avoid him…like she was trying not to show something to him. "I don't believe that Ember, listen you have to…"

"Listen to what, there's nothing with me!!!"

"Yes there is Ember."

"PROVE IT!!!!!"

"…You're crying…" No way, he was lying. There's no way in hell that Ember McLain, the embodiment of teenage rebellion itself, would sink that low. But as her hand made contact with her cheeks, she gasped out loud when she felt that it was damp. She couldn't believe it, but it was true. Pretty soon she simply started a round of quiet sobs because even after that she was still trying to hold it back. She didn't want to look weak in front of anyone especially the ghost before her.

Weakness showed you were incapable of taking care of yourself. Desperately she tried to silence herself over and over again, but her attempts ceased when Trey decided to do the unimaginable. He turned towards her and had slowly taken her into his embrace. "It does you no good to hold back…let it out" he whispered. Those three words were all it took for her to start bawling like she'd never done it before.

Her body seemed to tuck itself between his arms as her tears started staining his shirts. It took her a good 5 minutes before she finally started calming down again. Trey left for the bathroom to get some cool paper towels for her to dab on her face. Surprisingly, her eyeliner had hardly any smudges at all even as she cleaned her face. Throwing the used towels away Trey took his spot next to Ember again. "Just one more question, how do you feel now?" She couldn't describe how she felt just now. It was as if all the troubles she ever experienced just vanished in puff of smoke. The tiniest of smiles was soon seen on her lips as she rubbed her eyes once more.

"Now about your question Ember, now that I understand your life somewhat, I came back to apologize to you."

Wh-what, apologize, what for?" Ember was clearly taken aback. She had just done who knows what to this kid yet here he was saying that he wanted to _apologize_ to her of all things. "Now hear me out…when you called me daddy I wasn't stupid, I clearly saw I had somehow upset you, but given my druthers I was not thinking clearly. FYI, I often use music as a medium to calm myself and clear my head which should explain my little concert up on the roof…"

"Okay I get it, but what's your point?"

"My point is this…all in all I believe you deserve a second chance Ember. Maybe things won't be so…rough this time around now that we got to know each other." To actually hear that coming from anyone almost made Ember cry again but she was relieved to know that her tear ducts were now on empty. Then she remembered her dream and what she was told there, their fates had now been entwined, one won't survive without the other. Could it have something to do with Trey? Meanwhile he had gotten back up and made for the door. "Look Ember, we've both had a rough day so I think we should call it quits until tomorrow okay?"

"Y-yeah…sounds good" Trey smiled for the first time since arriving in the ghost zone. Seeing this almost made Ember jump, gone was the assertive, stubborn mule and in place was a kind, caring young man. "Wait…" Ember called to him so he turned back around and was caught in Ember's arms. He was taken a little off guard but he hugged her back. "Thank you…Trey…"

"Your welcome Ember" letting go of each other Ember finally shut her door for some well deserved rest. Trey did the same as he went back into the living room and took the familiar spot on the sofa. As Trey looked back out at the emerald sky, he finally was convinced that the life of a ghost was not too different from life as a living being. You just need to get used to the locals.

* * *

**A/N:**** and END SCENE! Holy crap that took forever, but hey things finally seem to be looking up for our friend Trey. Before you go flaming me because Ember is way OOC take into account what you've read, thoroughly!!! I'll try and update more quickly but I can't make any promises and remember: Good reviews get quicker updates, flames help me make s'mores...yum X3**


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